As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 5, 2021.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
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Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Cayman Islands | | 6770 | | 98-1581816 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | | (Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) | | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
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1204 Nueces St.
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 370-2242
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number,
including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
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G. Cotter Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer
Brian Sharples, Chairman of the Board of Directors
Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I
1204 Nueces St.
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 370-2242
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number,
including area code, of agent for service)
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Copies to:
Samer M. Zabaneh Jeffrey C. Selman Brent L. Bernell DLA Piper LLP (US) 401 Congress Avenue, Suite 2500 Austin, TX 78701 (512) 457-7126 | | P. Michelle Gasaway Gregg A. Noel Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP 300 South Grand Avenue, Suite 3400 Los Angeles, CA 90071 (213) 687-5000 |
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Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box: ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | | ☐ | | Accelerated filer | | ☐ |
Non-accelerated filer | | ☒ | | Smaller reporting company | | ☒ |
| | | | Emerging growth company | | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of Each Class of Security Being Registered | | Amount Being Registered | | Proposed Maximum Offering Price per Security(1) | | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1) | | Amount of Registration Fee |
Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value per share, and one-third of one redeemable warrant | | 23,000,000 | (2) | $ | 10.00 | | $ | 230,000,000 | | $ | 25,093 | |
Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units(3) | | 23,000,000 | (2) | | — | | | — | | | — | (4) |
Redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3) | | 7,666,667 | (2) | | — | | | — | | | — | (4) |
Class A ordinary shares underlying warrants as part of the units(3) | | 7,666,667 | (2) | $ | 11.50 | | $ | 88,166,670.50 | | $ | 9,619 | |
Total | | | | | | | $ | 318,166,670.50 | | $ | 34,712 | |
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(1) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. |
(2) | Includes 3,000,000 units, consisting of 3,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 1,000,000 warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriter to cover over-allotments, if any. |
(3) | Pursuant to Rule 416, there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from share sub-divisions, share dividends or similar transactions. |
(4) | No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g). |
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MARCH 5, 2021
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
$200,000,000
Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I
20,000,000 Units
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Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I is a newly incorporated blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company, incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any potential business combination target and have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target.
Our objective is to generate attractive and sustainable long-term returns for our shareholders by identifying compelling opportunities and enhancing long-term value by driving operational and financial improvements once a business combination is made. We will target potential companies that we believe can benefit from our founders’ sector expertise, relationships and public market experience. While we may pursue an initial target business in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry, sector, or geographic location, we intend to focus our search on high-growth businesses across the consumer technology and related sectors.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 37. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
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| | Per Unit | | Total |
Public Offering Price | | $10.00 | | $200,000,000 |
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) | | $ 0.55 | | $ 11,000,000 |
Proceeds, before expenses, to us | | $ 9.45 | | $189,000,000 |
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(1) | Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriter for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. Does not include certain fees and expenses payable to the underwriter in connection with this offering. See also “Underwriting” for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriter. |
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $200.0 million (or $230.0 million if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full, at $10.00 per unit) will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial
business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.
The underwriter is offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. Delivery of the units will be made on or about , 2021.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
No offer or invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.
Sole Book-Running Manager
Credit Suisse
The date of this prospectus is , 2021.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. Subject to the terms and conditions described in this prospectus, we may redeem the warrants for cash once the warrants become exercisable. We have also granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein.
Our sponsor, Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (which we refer to as our “sponsor” throughout this prospectus), has committed to purchase an aggregate of 4,933,333 warrants (or 5,333,333 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.50 per warrant (representing a purchase price of $7,400,000 in the aggregate or $8,000,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the private placement warrants. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein.
Our sponsor currently holds 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (which we refer to as “founder shares” as further described herein), up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business
combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities (as described herein), are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the sum of all Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering, plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of the Class B ordinary shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, holders of the Class B ordinary shares and holders of the Class A ordinary shares will vote together as a single class, except as required by law.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. We intend to apply to list our units on the NASDAQ Capital Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “MOOSU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on NASDAQ. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing Current Reports on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), containing an audited balance sheet of the company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on NASDAQ under the symbols “MOOS” and “MOOSW,” respectively.
We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus. We and the underwriter take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the units offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Until , 2021, all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to unsold allotments or subscriptions.
Trademarks
This prospectus contains references to trademarks and service marks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that the applicable licensor will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, its rights to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
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SUMMARY
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:
| • | “amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to our memorandum and articles of association to be in effect upon completion of this offering; |
| • | “Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time; |
| • | “founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering and our Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the conversion thereof as described herein; |
| • | “initial shareholders” are to our sponsor and other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering (if any); |
| • | “letter agreement” refers to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part; |
| • | “management” or our “management team” are to our directors and officers; |
| • | “ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares; |
| • | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering; |
| • | “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor, directors and officers to the extent our sponsor, directors or officers purchase public shares, provided their status as a “public shareholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares; |
| • | “public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| • | “NCV” or “Next Coast Ventures” are to Next Coast Ventures, LLC, Next Coast Ventures II, L.P., and NCV Entrepreneurs Fund II, L.P. and their affiliates; |
| • | “sponsor” are to Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company; |
| • | “warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market); and |
| • | “we,” “us,” “our,” “company,” “our company,” or “MPAC” are to Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I, a Cayman Islands exempted company. |
All references in this prospectus to shares of the company being forfeited shall take effect as sur-renders for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. All references to the conversion of our Class B ordinary shares shall take effect as a redemption of such Class B shares and issuance of the corresponding Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes (i) that the underwriter will not exercise their over-allotment option and (ii) the forfeiture by our sponsor of 750,000 founder shares.
General
Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I is a newly incorporated blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman corporation, incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any
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potential business combination target and have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target.
Our objective is to generate attractive and sustainable long-term returns for our shareholders by identifying compelling opportunities and enhancing long-term value by driving operational and financial improvements once a business combination is made. We will target potential companies that we believe can greatly benefit from our founders’ sector expertise, relationships and public market experience. While we may pursue an initial target business in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we intend to focus our search on high-growth businesses across consumer technology and related sectors.
Our Company
MPAC was founded by Brian Sharples and G. Cotter Cunningham, two highly credentialed former public company CEOs with proven track records of building disruptive consumer technology companies that have successfully accessed the public market. Our founders bring over 50 years of investing and operating experience and have demonstrated their ability to identify, and successfully execute against, the massive disruptive trends that define today’s consumer technology landscape. MPAC is the result of a multi-decade professional relationship between Sharples and Cunningham and is designed to capitalize on their complementary expertise and relationships. Coupled with their highly regarded reputation across the consumer technology ecosystem, we believe our founders will enjoy a competitive advantage in sourcing propriety opportunities and be viewed as a preferred partner, which will have a favorable impact on our ability to effectuate an attractive combination. We believe their significant operating and growth expertise and a deep understanding of managing public companies will also bring to bear significant long-term value for our shareholders.
In addition, NCV, a leading investment firm focused on early-stage consumer, enterprise and emerging platform opportunities, is a member of our sponsor group. NCV was founded in 2015 and has since invested in over 55 companies. NCV consists of seven investment and operational professionals and is advised by eight highly credentialed senior advisors, including Sharples and Cunningham, who are also LPs in the funds. MPAC will target opportunities not covered by existing NCV fund strategies and will be highly complementary to the broader NCV platform. Consequently, we will have complete access to, and expect to fully leverage, the relationships, expertise and resources of NCV.
Our Sponsor
Our sponsor is Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC, whose members include Next Coast Ventures, LLC, Next Coast Ventures II, L.P., NCV Entrepreneurs Fund II, L.P., Brian Sharples, our Chairman of the Board of Directors, G. Cotter Cunningham, our Chief Executive Officer, and certain other individuals.
Brian Sharples
Brian Sharples is a seasoned entrepreneur, public company executive and angel investor who has taken two companies public and served as a director on multiple public boards. Sharples has an established record of identifying and executing against disruptive trends, as evidenced by HomeAway, which he co-founded in 2005 and was sold to Expedia in 2015 for $3.9 billion.
Sharples is currently serving on the public boards of GoDaddy (GDDY), Avalara (AVLR), Yelp (YELP) and Ally Financial (ALLY). He also serves on the board of private equity (PE)-backed company RVShare and is an advisor to Next Coast Ventures (Venture Capital) and Tritium Partners (Private Equity). He is also a member of Next Coast Ventures’ Entrepreneurs Council.
Sharples was the chief executive officer of HomeAway, which he founded with Carl Shepherd. Over a 10-year span, he raised over $400 million in private equity funding to build the platform, scale the team and aggressively expand the business around the world. The genesis of HomeAway was a “blank check” commitment to Sharples from Austin Ventures in 2004 for up to $50 million to either start or buy a technology-enabled business. After researching several market opportunities for approximately four months, Sharples settled on trying to disrupt the online vacation rental market by pioneering a global platform for second-home rentals. Recognizing that several entrepreneurs had already started penetrating local markets (such as VRBO in the U.S. and Holiday Rentals in the
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U.K.), Sharples and Shepherd decided on a strategy of both buying existing businesses and aggressively building a common platform for organic growth. After its launch in February 2005 and over the next decade, HomeAway became one of the largest and most profitable vacation rental company in the world. HomeAway went public in 2011 and was sold to Expedia four years later for $3.9 billion. The company now operates under the brand VRBO as part of Expedia Group.
Under Sharples’ and Shepherd’s stewardship, HomeAway was active in serving hundreds of charities around the world, offering significant contributions of time and energy to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. The company was also a leader in providing employment for disabled individuals and had a strong focus on diversity within its management and leadership team.
Prior to HomeAway, Sharples was the president and chief executive officer of IntelliQuest Information Group, a supplier of marketing data and research to Fortune 500 technology companies. During his 10 years with the company, the business was twice recognized as one of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. An expert in brand strategy, Sharples has advised several major tech brands, including Apple, HP, Microsoft and Dell. IntelliQuest went public in 1996, and he continued on as CEO until the sale of the company in 1999 to Naviant and WPP Group.
Prior to IntelliQuest, Sharples was the founder and director of automotive marketplace iMotors, a company that eventually raised nearly $120 million to build an efficient and safe online marketplace for used cars. Sharples was the initial CEO of the company, but he left to pursue the IntelliQuest opportunity after recruiting an accomplished automotive executive as CEO to replace him. He remained a director until the company was sold to AutoNation in 2000.
Prior to iMotors, Sharples was a consultant at Bain & Co., with a focus on the technology sector.
In financing his ventures, Sharples has worked directly with some of the top venture capital and late-stage private equity funds in the U.S., including Summit Partners, Austin Ventures, Redpoint, TCV, IVP, Tiger Global, Google Ventures, and Trident Capital.
In addition to his current public board roles, Sharples has served on multiple other public boards, including Kayak and RetailMeNot, and served as the chairman of the HomeAway board. He has also been an active angel investor for the past 15 years, with private investments in over 30 companies and board roles in several. Sharples was the recipient of the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year Services Award in 2012 for his work at HomeAway.
Sharples holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he has lectured on board governance. He also teaches the HomeAway Case Study annually at Harvard Business School.
G. Cotter Cunningham
G. Cotter Cunningham is also a seasoned entrepreneur, public company executive and angel investor who has taken two companies public and served as a director on multiple corporate boards. Cunningham was previously Chairman, Founder and CEO at RetailMeNot, which he built after receiving a $30 million “blank check” from Austin Ventures in 2009. After an extensive search, he focused on consolidating the online coupon space, where he proceeded to acquire numerous companies over the next 10 years.
RetailMeNot became a leading savings destination that enables brands to engage active shoppers and influence purchase decisions. After founding the company in 2009, Cunningham raised more than $275 million from investors, including Austin Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, GV, IVP and JP Morgan, before leading the organization to an IPO in July 2013. After several years as a public company, in 2017 he led RetailMeNot through an acquisition by Harland Clarke.
Through these efforts, Cunningham has made a significant impact on the technology business environment in Austin, Texas.
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Prior to RetailMeNot, Cunningham served as a CEO-in-Residence for Austin Ventures. Cunningham also was the senior vice president and chief operating officer of Bankrate for seven years, taking the company public. He holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University and is on the board of directors for several private companies and the President’s Austin Innovation Board at the University of Texas. He also currently serves on the Entrepreneurs Council at Next Coast Ventures and is an advisor to Tritium Partners.
Next Coast Ventures
NCV is a leading investment firm focused on early-stage consumer, enterprise and emerging platform opportunities. NCV was founded in 2015 by Thomas Ball and Michael Smerklo, two seasoned investors. Since its founding, the firm has invested in over 55 companies across two funds, NCV I and NCV II. NCV consists of seven investment and operational professionals and is advised by eight highly credentialed senior advisors, including Sharples and Cunningham, who are also LPs in the funds.
NCV is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and is focused on innovation hubs outside of the coastal states. The firm believes there are significant untapped opportunities with highly favorable characteristics in these markets. Over $5 billion has been deployed in early-stage rounds across the markets on which NCV is focused. Approximately 50% of that capital has been deployed across eight key markets, namely, Austin, Denver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit and Raleigh. NCV’s focus has allowed it to become highly entrenched and well-respected across the entrepreneurship and venture ecosystem in these geographies, which it believes has led to its ability to capture differentiated, alpha-generating opportunities.
Market Opportunity
We seek to leverage our combined expertise to acquire a platform that is redefining a category through strong innovation and a deep understanding of its customers—in particular GenZ and millennial consumers, who we believe will be the substantial drivers of consumption and growth over the next decade. We believe there are significant opportunities for value creation as technology continues to permeate every facet of our lives and redefine consumer behavior. Ubiquitous connectivity and increasingly powerful mobile devices have led to the growth of connected consumers who are becoming increasingly sophisticated and discerning. In particular, these younger generations of consumers have, since a very young age, grown up with technology as an integral and essential part of their daily lives. These consumers demand transparency, convenience, extraordinary multitouch customer service and superior value from the products and services they consume. They value experiences more than ownership of physical assets, fueling the growth of platforms such as HomeAway and Airbnb, as well as other experiential and nontraditional marketplaces for travel, entertainment, health and wellness, online learning and education, finance, and even shopping through platforms that bypass traditional offline and online retail. In addition, we believe that traditional marketing channels such as TV advertising, print, direct mail and even online search via platforms such as Google have been augmented, disrupted and even replaced in many cases by myriad social channels, connectivity-fueled word-of-mouth marketing and video-based platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, which have captured a significant share of consumer eyeballs and time spent online.
We believe the ability to capture this group of consumers is critical for reasons beyond their sheer spending power. First, these younger generations are the curators of today’s culture and are driving trends upward, heavily influencing how older generations interact with technology. By securing this critical group first, businesses are able to capture a multigenerational opportunity. Moreover, we believe that technological accessibility and globalization are creating greater similarities across younger generations. These consumers are not homogenous by any means, but there is greater shared behavior than with prior generations, which have often been characterized by unequal access to resources and technology. We believe this presents a massive opportunity—by getting it right with GenZs and millennials, businesses are able to capture an outsize, and often global, opportunity.
We also believe the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the opportunity set across consumer technology. We believe the impact of the pandemic has accelerated digital adoption and created significant changes in consumer behavior, a combination that is driving growth across multiple subsectors. The ability to live, work, exercise, learn, get entertained and connect from virtually anywhere has given rise to do-it-yourself online platforms that are growing rapidly and that we believe are here to stay. Multiple target companies with significant long-term potential exist in all of these sectors. We believe the pandemic has also created temporary but meaningful market dislocation in certain sectors which we believe has created near-term value compression presenting an attractive entry point for investors. For example, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, industries such as travel, leisure and live
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entertainment have faced drastic reductions in demand, which has led to steep revenue declines and market underperformance. We believe this represents a temporary shock and hold the long-term thesis that a strong recovery will occur in these sectors, with digital platforms driving the majority of the growth post-pandemic. Our team has significant expertise and sourcing advantages in the online travel and leisure sector, and we believe opportunities exist to provide capital to strong technology-led brands that can benefit as their markets recover. These companies can also benefit from a strong balance sheet, our team’s operating expertise and the ability to fuel expansion both organically and via regional acquisitions.
Against this backdrop, numerous consumer-centric platforms have emerged as trusted online destinations for consumers to discover, connect and transact across a variety of consumer sectors. These companies are leveraging both product innovation and a full spectrum of online marketing channels to be significant disruptors in their categories and build share quickly with the very consumers who will influence and drive economic activity for years to come. Several of these companies have achieved the scale and market readiness to become highly compelling assets for public equity investors and have also demonstrated the ability to create significant barriers to entry as they grow, creating the potential for high profitability and long-term growth. Some of these success stories include goods and services marketplaces such as Etsy, Airbnb, Uber, VRBO, Poshmark, Farfetch, Mercado Libre and Upwork, as well as innovative subscription/subscription-like businesses such as Netflix, Peloton, Shopify, Roku, Chewy and GoodRx and disruptive fintech platforms such as Sofi, Robinhood, Square and Greendot. Our investment focus will be on private companies that have built marketplace platforms, subscription services and online strategies that are poised for continued disruption and can be replicated in markets around the world through both organic and inorganic growth.
We also believe certain sectors across consumer technology present interesting consolidation opportunities. Our founders are deeply entrenched across the ecosystem and are well-positioned to combine market leaders or disruptors that together will have the scale and market share to represent a compelling public company with significant post-IPO growth potential. Similar to the strategy employed in building HomeAway and RetailMeNot, we believe we have the opportunity to identify combinations of businesses that provide a platform for capturing significant market share, while leveraging the operating advantages provided by additional scale. These advantages include the ability to hire and retain world-class talent, enhanced negotiation with suppliers, marketing scale and investment in continued innovation and R&D, as well as the opportunity to leverage the public markets for growth capital, creating a significant advantage over smaller and less well-funded competitors. In these situations, our CEO-led management team can provide significant and meaningful value-add to founders we believe will welcome our expertise on integrating the companies and preparing them for a public listing. We also believe that this sourcing strategy will result in proprietary deal flow versus other SPACs that are only focused on a single acquisition.
We also believe there may be several potential domestic/international combinations that will allow us to create a global leader, with a resulting listing on a U.S. stock exchange. Our team has significant experience with acquisitions in virtually every leading EU country, and we believe that many of the available assets overseas can represent a better value than those in the U.S. As such, we intend to leverage our strong connections in Europe, as well as our board, to seek market-leading businesses in Europe that could benefit from a combination with a similar U.S. platform, creating both scale and a springboard for further international growth.
Our Competitive Advantage
Our sponsors share a strategic vision that we believe will allow us to capture outsize and undervalued market opportunities across consumer technology. We are well-positioned to achieve this by executing against a disciplined framework that leverages our competitive advantages, including:
Proprietary sourcing engine leveraging depth and breadth of relationships: We intend to capitalize on the established reputations of Sharples and Cunningham and their deep network across the ecosystem to drive proprietary deal flow. Developed over multiple decades, our founders’ hard-to-replicate relationships with entrepreneurs, investors, venture- and late-stage private equity firms, and operators deeply entrench them across the consumer technology landscape. In addition, many of the senior leaders from companies operated by Sharples and Cunningham have gone on to be founders and/or CEOs of successful consumer internet businesses. We have also assembled an experienced board of operators across travel, fintech, consumer services and software and plan to leverage their networks, experience and vision in developing sourcing targets in both the U.S. and Europe. We also believe we have a competitive advantage sourcing outside of Silicon Valley, especially in Central Texas and Austin,
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specifically, which has quickly become one of the leading regions in the world for technology innovation and disruption.
We also believe there is a unique opportunity for our founders to create exclusive deal flow by seeking to combine industry leaders or disruptors that together will have the scale and market share to represent a compelling public company with significant post-IPO growth potential. We plan to further extend this strategy by sourcing outside the U.S. and looking for domestic/international combinations that will allow us to create a global leader.
In addition, NCV will further supplement and broaden our sourcing funnel by directing proprietary deal flow from its extensive network of entrepreneurs, management teams and former executives of public and private companies, venture capitalists and private equity sponsors.
Disciplined and thesis-driven investment framework and due diligence process: Across our founders, board and advisors/sponsors, we have collectively executed over 100 acquisitions and have developed a proven playbook for evaluating opportunities. In our assessment of potential business combination targets, we intend to apply a thesis-driven, rigorous and value-disciplined approach. Both Sharples and Cunningham operated platforms that were profitable from year one, and we will have a strong focus on profit potential over a three- to five-year period following acquisition, while prioritizing the right investments for continued growth. Our focus will be on opportunities that align with our aforementioned market opportunity and demonstrate key business and financial signals.
Our sponsors will be supported by a dedicated MPAC team that will assist with the evaluation and due diligence of potential opportunities. We will also leverage NCV and external relationships to evaluate market sizing, competitive dynamics and consumer sentiments to assess the long-term attractiveness of potential targets. We will perform fundamental valuation analyses and apply a value-disciplined approach that will allow us to anticipate attractive returns on capital for our investors.
Differentiated sponsorship driving favorable transaction dynamics and long-term value: We are a CEO-led team with a proven track record of successfully building consumer technology platforms and leading them into the public market. Our founders will be dedicated long-term partners and plan to remain highly involved at the board level. Based on our combined 15 years of operating public companies, we believe we are well-positioned to guide a company through the necessary measures needed for a publicly traded entity, as well as to deliver extensive operational experience that can enhance the value of our target post-business combination.
As CEOs, both Sharples and Cunningham were considered to be very strong visionaries, brand stewards and operators by both investors and employees. We have a consistent philosophy of surrounding ourselves with the smartest and most capable business leaders, with little tolerance for those who are not strong team players and a focus on those who can listen just as well as they lead. We are experts at building organizations with complementary skills that can execute an aggressive growth strategy, while driving decision-making and operating responsibility to the places in the organization with the best information and ability to execute quickly. We believe in a culture that rewards data-driven decision-making, which includes a deep understanding of customers, competitors, development cycles, prioritization of projects based on ROI, funnel metrics to minimize cost of customer acquisition and world-class product and service delivery that provides high Net Promoter Scores. We believe that the best leaders exhibit humility as a gateway to continuous learning and improvement, while pushing themselves to do their best work each and every day. We also understand from experience the benefits of setting stretch goals for both the company and individuals, with a regular cadence of measurement, improvement and rewards. Additionally, we have significant public experience in audit, compensation, ESG and governance that we believe will be extremely valuable to companies pursuing the SPAC path. We believe this differentiation from other private equity (PE)-led SPACs will resonate with entrepreneurs and will be a significant factor in considering a partner in the public listing process.
As mentioned, we also believe there is a unique opportunity to combine market leaders or disruptors that together will have the scale and market share to represent a compelling public company with significant post-IPO growth potential. Our expertise, reputation and relationships will allow us to assess relative valuations and the most appropriate leadership team to move forward as a public company. We believe there are many market-leading companies that would be compelling potential public company targets. Our resources and expertise, along with the
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potential for these target companies to achieve public liquidity greater than what could be achieved on a stand-alone basis, can help facilitate an outcome that these companies may be unable to achieve on their own.
We believe these factors will allow us to be viewed as a preferred partner to potential targets, which would be favorable as we seek to effectuate a business combination.
Our Acquisition Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and complete our initial business combination with a company or companies that can benefit from our founders’ operational and investment experience. We expect to favor high-growth, disruptive consumer technology companies in large and growing markets with certain industry and business characteristics. These include but are not limited to:
| • | Disruptive product and service strategy: We will seek businesses that are using technology and leveraging innovative approaches to win against traditional companies serving large and compelling consumer markets. In particular, we’ll focus on businesses that have redefined product and service delivery for the next generation of consumers, who will drive significant economic activity in the decade ahead. |
| • | Long-term growth potential: We will target companies with a demonstrated ability to disrupt, as evidenced by rapid growth and an ability to transform a market or industry through innovation. Often these companies are those that are smaller and start with fewer resources but enter a market by targeting a certain niche, and then use that success to displace previously dominant competitors as its offering is taken up by the broader market. This provides the potential for long-term growth from both market share gains and expansion of existing product offerings. These companies also typically lower the cost of entry for consumers, which can expand an existing market greatly. |
| • | Ability to expand across geographies: We will target companies that have the long-term ability to scale across geographies, either through organic entry or through acquisition. Our team is highly experienced in developing international expansion strategies and building multilingual platforms for rapid integration and managing diverse operations. Geographic expansion is another important long-term growth vector that can help sustain outsize growth over the long term. As a result, we will be initially seeking targets in both the U.S. and Europe and working with all companies to identify long-term geographic expansion opportunities. |
| • | World-class management team: We will seek businesses run by strong and experienced leaders who have developed a deep understanding of their industry, though often disruptive companies will be run by young and innovative founders who are learning to scale on the job. Successful disruptive companies face unique challenges that require continuous team adjustments to mitigate risk, manage rapid growth and capitalize on opportunities. Because our team is CEO-led, we have a unique ability to advise existing management and leverage our networks to augment teams with the talent and resources necessary to realize a company’s ultimate potential. |
| • | Defensible business model with clear competitive moats: We will seek businesses that have the ability to build competitive moats through a combination of scale and network effects. For example, marketplace businesses such as HomeAway are highly defensible as the ecosystem of buyers and sellers grows. Sellers and suppliers want to sell in the marketplaces with the most potential buyers, and we believe buyers will always favor marketplaces that offer the greatest variety and choice. This “virtuous cycle” makes it difficult for new entrants, who must often expend significant resources to catch up to the scale of the market leader. We believe that several opportunities may have the characteristic of leveraging an initial business combination of market leaders or disruptors to create the scale required to develop a truly defensible position and platform for continued growth. |
| • | Recurring/reoccurring revenue streams: We will also seek businesses that have a demonstrated ability to benefit from recurring revenue streams such as subscription services or have significant recurring business from existing customers from annual renewals or repeat business. Recurring revenue from existing customers dramatically lowers the cost of acquisition and provides a basis for substantial margin improvement as a business scales. Our team is highly experienced in subscription services and online |
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| | renewal marketing and management, as well as developing service and communication strategies that can maximize repeat business and lower the overall cost of marketing. |
| • | Opportunity for operational improvement: The core of our strategy is to find highly successful disruptors that also stand to benefit from both a large capital infusion and operational benefits that leverage the experience of our team. Together with our board of directors, we bring decades of experience and wisdom across finance, operations, strategy, brand development, digital marketing, pricing, product development, engineering, corporate governance, compensation, recruiting, CRM and investor relations. As mentioned above, we may also seek to capitalize on companies that have seen some revenue and value compression from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as companies related to travel and leisure. Many of these companies have learned to operate more efficiently out of necessity and will be in a strong position to move quickly to capitalize from these operational improvements as their markets recover. |
| • | Attractive steady-state margins: We will seek businesses that have a clear path to steady-state margins as the business achieves scale. We believe the best public companies are those that can achieve what’s known as the “rule of 40,” which states that at scale, a company’s revenue growth plus net profit margin should be equal or greater to 40%. Our focus will be on companies that we believe can achieve that objective within a five-year window following acquisition. |
Our founders have extensive experience building businesses with these characteristics, as evidenced by HomeAway and RetailMeNot, and are well-positioned to evaluate potential opportunities against these characteristics. Our board also has extensive operational experience and will provide invaluable insight post-combination. Our board includes:
Adam Rogers
Adam Rogers has led a rich career in enterprise SaaS solutions that has spanned over 20 years. He started his career at Ultimate Software as a college intern, eventually serving as CTO and then CEO. As CTO, Rogers and his team created the first enterprise SaaS solution, UltiPro, an award-winning Human Capital Management product that brought to market new advancements like AI, machine learning, predictive and prescriptive analytics, natural language processing and mobile technologies. As CEO, he helped Ultimate Software grow to over 6,000 employees and scale to over $1.4 billion in revenue. He guided an $11 billion take-private deal as well as a $22 billion merger one year later. In his last year as CEO in 2020, Ultimate Software was ranked number two on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Together with Brian Sharples and G. Cotter Cunningham, Rogers is a member of the Entrepreneurs Council at Next Coast Ventures.
Leah Sweet
Leah Sweet is a respected and accomplished technology and e-commerce industry leader recognized for her ability to increase competitive advantages, customer loyalty, employee engagement and profitable growth as an executive at PayPal and American Express by envisioning, planning and operationalizing strategic transformations.
Sweet is a member of the board of directors of GoDaddy Inc. and BMC Technologies. She has held multiple executive-level positions, including senior vice president at PayPal, where her scope of responsibilities incorporated the duties of chief operating officer and chief customer officer, including complete oversight of product operations, strategy and design. She played an instrumental role in quadrupling PayPal’s stock price and expanding top-tier market positions by successfully leading implementation of a five-year agile product development modernization program that embedded innovation in the company culture, expedited time to market, and provided more-advanced capabilities that solved customer problems.
Carl Shepherd
Carl G. Shepherd is a veteran of the sharing economy. A semi-retired serial internet entrepreneur, Shepherd co-founded HomeAway, one of the first sharing economy-based companies, in 2005. As Chief Strategic and Development Officer (2005-2015) he was the architect of the company’s acquisition strategy, negotiating and closing 22 acquisitions and investments and served on the board of directors until the company’s sale to Expedia, Inc.
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For six years, Shepherd served as the COO and head of corporate development for Hoover’s Online. An internet powered new entrant into the tired world of business information, Hoover’s developed into a leading source for business information online, culminating in an IPO in 1999 and the eventual sale of the company to Dun & Bradstreet in March 2003.
Shepherd has invested and serves on the board of two privately held travel companies, Turnkey Vacation Rentals and HostelWorld, PLC. He is an active angel investor. He is a frequent speaker at travel industry events such as PhocusWright, WIT, EyeForTravel, the China Travel Daily Conference, HostelWorld Conference, and NOAH.
His career began as a consultant, working for what is now Accenture, and establishing a practice based in the advertising industry. He later served as CFO of magazine publishers Texas Monthly, Inc. (Austin, Texas) and Hanley Wood, LLC (Washington D.C.). Shepherd holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration (Advertising) from Texas Christian University and an MBA (Finance) from the University of Texas at Austin.
Andreas Wiele
Andreas Wiele is a highly experienced and entrepreneurial international media and digital senior executive with an outstanding track-record in many different environments and excellent people, creative and financial skills as well as several highly profitable PE-exits.
Wiele is currently serving as Senior Advisor to KKR’s Global TMT Business and founder of a UK-based green tech start-up, Oaktreepower.com. During his 20 year-tenure until May 2020 as member of the executive board of Axel Springer SE, Europe’s largest publisher has become the role model for a successful disruptive transition from a traditional print publisher to Europe’s leading digital media company. During this time, Wiele has steered and completed several dozen acquisitions of digital companies of all sizes, and the company completed and successfully exited important co-investments from PE-companies Hellman & Friedman and General Atlantic. Prior to his time at Axel Springer, Wiele was Chief Operating Officer of Gruner+Jahr USA Publishing in New York City from 1994 to 2000. From 1990 until 1994, Wiele served as Publishing Director of Prisma Presse Snc in Paris, France. Wiele started his career as journalist of a large German newspaper. He earned a Ph.D. in law at the University of Salzburg in Austria and holds law degrees from the Universities of Munich, Germany, and Dijon, France.
Amar Lalvani
Amar Lalvani is CEO of Standard International (the parent company of Standard Hotels) and CEO of Bunkhouse Group. Prior to leading the investment and formation of Standard International he was Chief Investment Officer for Andre Balazs Properties and held various executive roles with Hilton Worldwide and Starwood Hotels & Resorts including leading the global development of W Hotels. Prior to that, Lalvani worked for The Blackstone Group and began his career with Starwood Capital Group. In addition to serving on the Boards of Standard International and Bunkhouse Group, he was a seed investor and Board member of Peloton Interactive. Lalvani has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Thomas Ball
Thomas Ball is an experienced investor and entrepreneur. He is a co-founder and Managing Director at NCV, a leading early stage investment firm located in Austin, Texas. Prior to co-founding NCV, he was most recently a General Partner at Austin Ventures (“AV”) where he spent over a decade focused on early and growth stage investments primarily in Austin. Ball has invested in, been intimately involved with and/or served on the boards of numerous private and public companies including Goja, Enboarder, Trust Radius, RetailMeNot (where he was the first investor and external board member and remained on the board through IPO and subsequent acquisition), Silvercar (acquired by Audi), Jam City, Donuts, Adometry (acquired by Google), Bazaarvoice (IPO), Convio (IPO) and Jigsaw Data (acquired by Salesforce).
Prior to joining AV, Ball was a serial entrepreneur having founded or co-founded multiple companies including Razorgator Interactive/Openfield Technologies, Tahoe Domains, and eCoupons.
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In addition to his investing and entrepreneurial career, Ball currently serves or has previously served on numerous non-profit boards including Austin PBS, Entrepreneurs Fund of Central Texas, and the Busby Foundation.
Ball holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, a BS degree from the University of Florida, and is a Kauffman Fellow.
Initial Business Combination
NASDAQ rules require that our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience in evaluating each prospective business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership
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with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Affiliates of NCV and members of our board of directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers or directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually selected nor considered a target business nor have they had any substantive discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriter or other advisors. NCV is continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with our company. We have not (nor have any of our agents or affiliates) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us and we will not consider a business combination with any company that has already been identified to NCV as a suitable acquisition candidate for it, unless NCV, in its sole discretion, declines such potential business combination or makes available to us a co-investment opportunity in accordance with NCV’s applicable existing and future policies and procedures. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any substantive measure, directly or indirectly, to select or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to select or locate any such acquisition candidate.
NCV may manage multiple investment vehicles and raise additional funds and/or successor funds in the future, which may be during the period in which we are seeking our initial business combination. These NCV investment entities may be seeking acquisition opportunities and related financing at any time. We may compete with any one or more of them on any given acquisition opportunity.
Our directors and officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. See “Risk Factors — Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”
In addition, our officers or directors may be investors, or have other direct or indirect interests, in a business with which we may enter into a business combination agreement and/or in certain funds or other persons that may purchase shares in this offering or that may otherwise purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the public market.
Our officers, directors and any of their respective affiliates may sponsor or form, or, in the case of individuals, serve as a director or officer of, other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Corporate Information
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required
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to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to SEC rules from time to time), or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies wishing to conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and expect to receive a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands Government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable (1) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (2) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on February 5, 2021. Our executive offices are located at 1204 Nueces St., Austin, TX 78701, and our telephone number is (512) 370-2242. Upon completion of this offering, our corporate website address will be www.moosepond.co. Our corporate website and the information contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered a part of, this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.
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THE OFFERING
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section below entitled “Risk Factors”.
Securities offered | | 20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: |
| | • one Class A ordinary share; and |
| | • one-third of one redeemable warrant. |
NASDAQ symbols | | Units: “MOOSU” Class A Ordinary Shares: “MOOS” Warrants: “MOOSW” |
Trading commencement and separation of Class A ordinary shares and warrants | |
The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. |
Separate trading of the Class A ordinary shares and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K | |
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet of the company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option.
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Units: | | |
Number issued and outstanding before this offering | | 0 |
Number issued and outstanding after this offering | | 20,000,000(1) |
Ordinary shares: | | |
Number issued and outstanding before this offering | | 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares(2),(3) |
Number issued and outstanding after this offering | | 25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares(1),(3),(4) |
Warrants: | | |
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering | | 4,933,333(1) |
Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the private placement | | 11,600,000(1) |
Exercisability | | Each whole warrant offered in this offering is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment as described herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. |
| | We structured each unit to contain one-third of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies which contain whole warrants exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of our initial business combination as compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, which we believe will make us a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. |
Exercise price | | $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. |
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(1) | Assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option and the forfeiture by our sponsor of 750,000 founder shares. |
(2) | Consists solely of founder shares and includes up to 750,000 Class B ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised. |
(3) | Founder shares are classified as Class B ordinary shares, which shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.” |
(4) | Includes 20,000,000 public shares and 5,000,000 founder shares. |
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| | In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, (i) the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, (ii) the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and (iii) the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. |
Exercise period | | The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement). |
| | We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause such post-effective amendment or registration statement to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a public warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our |
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| | option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. |
| | The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. |
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00 | |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
• in whole and not in part; • at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| | • upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the “30-day redemption period”; and |
| | • if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
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| | We will not redeem the warrants unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants” for additional information. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. |
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00 | |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
• in whole and not in part; • at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis” prior to redemption and receive a number of Class A ordinary shares determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined below) except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants”; • if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted and described under “Description of Securities – Warrants – Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants – Anti-dilution Adjustments”) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and |
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| | • if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders, the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above. |
| | The “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares shall mean the average last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the ten trading day period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable on a “cashless basis” in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per whole warrant (subject to adjustment). This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in some other blank check offerings. No fractional Class A ordinary shares will be issued upon the exercise of warrants on a cashless basis. If, upon the exercise of warrants on a cashless basis, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. Please see “Description of Securities – Warrants – Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants” for additional information. |
Founder shares | | On February 5, 2021, our sponsor subscribed for an aggregate of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. |
| | Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of these founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to us by the number of founder shares issued. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised. |
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| | The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: |
| | • prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; |
| | • the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, as described in more detail below; |
| | • our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive: (1) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (2) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame). If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote any founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.50%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved; or 1,250,001, or 6.25%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of transaction (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved; |
| | • the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and |
| | • the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. |
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Transfer restrictions on founder shares | | Pursuant to a letter agreement with us, our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; or (B) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. |
| | Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lock-up. |
Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights | | We have 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as described herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt.
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Appointment of directors; voting rights | | Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by at least 90% of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote. |
Private placement warrants | | Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 4,933,333 private placement warrants (or 5,333,333 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($7,400,000 in the aggregate or $8,000,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Private placement warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares. The purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire without value to the holder. The private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. Our sponsor, as well as its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. |
Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants | | The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.”
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Proceeds to be held in trust account | | The rules of NASDAQ provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the $207.4 million in proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $238 million if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full, $200.0 million ($10.00 per unit), or $230.0 million ($10.00 per unit) if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full (including $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions), will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $3.4 million will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. |
| | Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders. |
Anticipated expenses and funding sources | | Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use, except the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes or to redeem our public shares in connection with an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as described above. Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $400,000 of interest annually (assuming an interest rate of 0.20% per year). Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from:
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| | • the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,900,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $1,500,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and |
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| | • any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us; and provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. |
Conditions to completing our initial business combination | | There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. The NASDAQ rules require that an initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on NASDAQ for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net assets test.
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| | If our board is not able independently to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test; provided that in the event that our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. |
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Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities | |
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. If our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. See “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to enter into private transaction with.
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| | We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will be restricted from making any purchases if such purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of warrants could be to reduce the number of warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or our warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. |
| | There is no limit on the number of public shares and warrants that our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase pursuant to the transactions described above. |
Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination | |
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.
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| | The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriter. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with any shareholder vote to approve any such amendment. |
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Manner of conducting redemptions | | We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (1) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons. |
| | If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association: |
| | • conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
| | • file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
| | Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. |
| | In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination. |
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| | If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will: |
| | • conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
| | • file proxy materials with the SEC. |
| | We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our NASDAQ listing or Exchange Act registration. |
| | If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.50%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved; or 1,250,001, or 6.25%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of transaction (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved. Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to any public shares acquired by them. These voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. |
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| | Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible assets test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target). |
Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights | |
We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements.
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Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold shareholder vote | |
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us
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| | or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination. |
Redemption Rights in connection with proposed amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association | |
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain charter provisions. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting), including those related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances), may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, who will beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then
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| | on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with any shareholder vote to approve any such amendment. |
Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination | |
On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be released to us. We will use these funds to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriter its deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
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Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination | |
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire without value to the holder if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period.
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| | Our initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time frame. The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to its deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares. |
| | Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. |
Limited payments to insiders | | There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: |
| | • repayment of an aggregate of up to $175,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; |
| | • payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of a total of $25,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services; |
| | • payment of customary fees for financial advisory services; |
| | • reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and |
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| | • repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. |
| | These payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith. |
| | Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their affiliates. |
Audit committee | | Prior to the effectiveness of this registration statement, we will have established and will maintain an audit committee to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to immediately take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.” |
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Conflicts of interest | | Certain of our officers and directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to NCV and to certain companies in which it has invested. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination, and any such involvement may result in conflicts of interests as described above. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” In addition, our officers or directors may be investors, or have other direct or indirect interests, in a business with which we may enter into a business combination agreement and/or in certain funds or other persons that may purchase shares in this offering or that may otherwise purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the public market. |
| | Many of our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. See “Risk Factors — Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.” |
| | We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. |
Indemnity | | Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations. |
Risks
We are a newly incorporated blank check company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues to date. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For
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additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 37 of this prospectus. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
| • | We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| • | Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination. |
| • | Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash. |
| • | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets. |
| • | We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire without value to the holder. |
| • | Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations. |
| • | Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines. |
| • | We may seek business combination opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel. |
| • | Our initial business combination may be structured in a manner that requires shareholders and/or warrant holders to recognize gain or income for tax purposes, and our shareholders and warrant holders may be subject to additional income, withholding or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after our initial business combination. In addition, as a result of our business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and uncertain. |
| • | We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors. |
| • | Although we are registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire without value to the holder. |
| • | We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the warrant could be converted into cash or shares (at a ratio different than initially provided), the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval. |
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| • | We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants of no value to you. |
| • | Past performance by our management team and NCV may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us. |
| • | Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous. |
| • | Our directors and officers will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. |
| • | Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
| • | We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest. |
| • | Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after this offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination. |
| • | Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business. |
| • | Our initial shareholders will control the appointment of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will appoint and remove all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support. |
| • | We may be treated as a passive foreign investment company, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors. |
| • | The other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. |
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Summary Financial Data
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
| | February 5, 2021 |
| | Actual | | As Adjusted |
Balance Sheet Data: | | | | | | | | |
Working (deficiency) capital(1) | | $ | (155,000 | ) | | $ | 194,907,447 | |
Total assets(2) | | $ | 162,447 | | | $ | 201,907,447 | |
Total liabilities(3) | | $ | 155,000 | | | $ | 7,000,000 | |
Value of ordinary share subject to possible redemption(4) | | $ | — | | | $ | 189,907,440 | |
Shareholders’ equity(5) | | $ | 7,447 | | | $ | 5,000,007 | |
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(1) | The “as adjusted” calculation includes $200,000,000 of cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, plus $1,900,000 of cash held outside the trust account, plus $7,447 of actual shareholders’ equity on February 5, 2021, less $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting commissions. |
(2) | The “as adjusted” calculation equals $200,000,000 of cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, plus $1,900,000 of cash held outside the trust account, plus $7,447 of actual shareholders’ equity on February 5, 2021. |
(3) | The “as adjusted” calculation equals $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting commissions, assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised. |
(4) | The “as adjusted” calculation equals the “as adjusted” total assets, less the “as adjusted” total liabilities, less the “as adjusted” shareholders’ equity, which is set to approximate the minimum net tangible assets threshold of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination. |
(5) | Excludes 18,990,744 ordinary shares purchased in the public market which are subject to conversion in connection with our initial business combination. The “as adjusted” calculation equals the “as adjusted” total assets, less the “as adjusted” total liabilities, less the value of ordinary shares that may be converted in connection with our initial business combination ($10.00 per share). |
If our initial business combination is not completed within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month time period.
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RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to Our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks
We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a newly incorporated Cayman Islands exempted company with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our initial business combination. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. Except as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the business combination we complete. Please see “Proposed Business - Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.50%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved; or 1,250,001, or 6.25%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of transaction (assuming only the minimum number of shares
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representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares at the time of any such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if such persons agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders.
Although we are registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire without value to the holder.
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement for the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and thereafter will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause such post-effective amendment or registration statement to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case the number of our Class A ordinary shares that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum number of shares equal to 0.361 our Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from state registration is available. If an exemption is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a public warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire without value to the holder. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek shareholder approval of such business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Additionally, since our board of directors may complete a business
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combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriter will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting commissions is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay and the payment of the deferred underwriting commissions. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights and, therefore, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful increases. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may
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limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of the 24-month period. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
Our search for a business combination, and any partner business with which we ultimately complete a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.
Since it was first reported to have emerged in December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has spread across the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” The COVID-19 outbreak has adversely affected, and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) could adversely affect, the economies and financial markets worldwide, potentially including the business of any potential target business with which we intend to consummate a business combination. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination at all if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or make it impossible or impractical to negotiate and consummate a transaction with the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers in a timely manner, if at all. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases), including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Finally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire without value to the holder.
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein.
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If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than $10.00 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire without value to the holder. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
Members of our management team, board of directors and advisory team have significant experience as founders, board members, officers, executives or employees of other companies. Certain of those persons have been, may be, or may become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings, including related to those companies or otherwise. This may have an adverse effect on us, which may impede our ability to consummate an initial business combination.
During the course of their careers, members of our management team, board of directors and advisory team have had significant experience as founders, board members, officers, executives or employees of other companies. Certain of those persons have been, may be or may in the future become involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings, including relating to the business affairs of such companies, transactions entered into by such companies, or otherwise. Any such litigation, investigations or other proceedings may divert the attention and resources of our management team, board of directors and advisory team away from identifying and selecting a target business or businesses for our initial business combination and may negatively affect our reputation, which may impede our ability to complete an initial business combination.
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.”
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire without value to the holder.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and
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the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our Class A ordinary shares, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire without value to the holder. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
Recently, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate an initial business combination. In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to subsequently take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write down or write off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months of the closing of this offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from our trust account.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as
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further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account shall be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to windup, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the initial 24 months before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and then only in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior thereto.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. See “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to enter into private transaction with. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of our initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of our initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of warrants could be to reduce the number of warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
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Because we are not limited to a particular industry or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company of any size (subject to our satisfaction of the 80% of net assets test) and in any industry, sector or geography. However, we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or development stage entity. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to our investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’s ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the
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cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
After our initial business combination, our results of operations and prospects could be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political, social and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Risks Relating to Our Securities
NASDAQ may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We intend to apply to have our units listed on NASDAQ on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants listed on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet the minimum initial listing requirements set forth in the rules of NASDAQ, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on NASDAQ in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NASDAQ prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public shareholders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with NASDAQ’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NASDAQ’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NASDAQ. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our global market capitalization would be required to be at least $150,000,000, the aggregate market value of publicly-held shares would be required to be at least $40,000,000 and we would be required to have at least 400 round lot holders. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If NASDAQ delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| • | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on NASDAQ, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain
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state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on NASDAQ, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 20% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 20% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 20% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preferred shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will authorize the issuance of up to 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 undesignated preferred shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 169,000,000 and 15,000,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriter has not exercised its over-allotment option) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. Immediately after this offering, there will be no preferred shares issued and outstanding.
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We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares, and may issue preferred shares, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination. The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preferred shares:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preferred shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares; |
| • | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present directors and officers; |
| • | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants. |
We may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price which is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may issue shares to investors in private placement transactions (so-called PIPE transactions) at a price of $10.00 per share or which approximates the per-share amounts in our trust account at such time, which is generally approximately $10.00. The purpose of such issuances will be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity to the post-business combination entity. The price of the shares we issue may therefore be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our shares at such time.
Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution upon the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the ordinary shares and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 91.8% (or $9.18 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.82 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants of no value to you.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant; provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities —Warrants —
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Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants”) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to: (1) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (2) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (3) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Because each unit contains one-third of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-third of one redeemable warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one whole warrant to purchase one share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for a third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriter. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriter, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriter believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A ordinary shares and warrants underlying the units, include:
| • | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| • | prior offerings of those companies; |
| • | our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values; |
| • | a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions; |
| • | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
| • | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and |
| • | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
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There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the U.S. securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet of the company demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors.
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the
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liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Our sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our directors or officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, upon the listing of our shares on NASDAQ, NASDAQ may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the NASDAQ rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
After completion of this offering, prior to our initial business combination only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. As a result, NASDAQ may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the NASDAQ corporate governance standards. Under the NASDAQ corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a ‘controlled company’ and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
| • | we have a board that includes a majority of ‘independent directors,’ as defined under the rules of NASDAQ; |
| • | we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter |
| • | addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
| • | we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of NASDAQ, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NASDAQ corporate governance requirements.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a voidable performance. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
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If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our liquidation estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any liquidation claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation would be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| • | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| • | restrictions on the issuance of securities; |
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| • | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
| • | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| • | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to. |
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire without value to the holder.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of
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business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine of up to approximately $18,300 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
We may not hold an annual general meeting of shareholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination. Our public shareholders will not have the right to appoint or remove directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
In accordance with the NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors prior to consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants after the closing of an initial business combination.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their founder shares after those shares convert to our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such warrants or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders or their permitted transferees, our private placement warrants or warrants issued in connection with working capital loans are registered for resale.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although
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circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Risks Relating to Our Management Team
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.
Information regarding performance by our management team and their affiliates, including NCV, is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team and their affiliates, including NCV, is not a guarantee either (1) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team or their affiliates, NCV, or any related investment’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
We are dependent upon our directors and officers and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and in particular, G. Cotter Cunningham, our Chief Executive Officer, Brian Sharples, our Chairman of the board of directors, and C. Thomas Ball, one of our directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our directors and officers, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our directors and officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. Moreover, certain of our directors and officers have time and attention requirements for investment funds of which affiliates of our sponsor are the investment managers. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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We may seek acquisition opportunities outside our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination in a sector that is outside our management’s areas of expertise, if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors relevant to such acquisition. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of our or a target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Our current officers may not remain in their positions following our initial business combination. We may have limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial
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business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our directors and officers will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our directors and officers are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. In particular, certain of our officers and directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to NCV and to certain companies in which it has invested, including companies in industries we may target for our initial business combination. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs, which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management — Directors, Director Nominees and Officers.”
Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and directors and officers are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies prior to us completing our initial business combination. Moreover, certain of our directors and officers have time and attention requirements for investment funds of which affiliates of our sponsor are the investment managers.
Our directors and officers also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to other entities prior to its presentation to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
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For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Management — Directors, Director Nominees and Officers,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our directors, officers, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
In particular, affiliates of our sponsor have invested in industries as diverse as healthcare, education, financial services, artificial intelligence and social media. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.
In addition, our officers or directors may be investors, or have other direct or indirect interests, in a business with which we may enter into a business combination agreement and/or in certain funds or other persons that may purchase shares in this offering or that may otherwise purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the public market.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, directors and officers with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors and officers. Our directors and officers also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including those described under “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, directors and officers are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement that we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In February 5, 2021, our sponsor subscribed for an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the
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consummation of this offering. The founder shares will be without value to the holder if we do not complete an initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 4,933,333 (or 5,333,333 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, for a purchase price of $7,400,000 in the aggregate (or $8,000,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.50 per warrant, that will also be without value to the holder if we do not complete a business combination. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein.
The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering except that: (1) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; (2) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions; (3) our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (4) the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and; and (5) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights directors and officers. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to or waiver of the letter agreement or registration rights agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of such agreements in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments or waivers would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, directors and officers may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month deadline following the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for the completion of our initial business combination.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors may be amended without shareholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors contains provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares and private placement warrants, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the trust account. The letter agreement may be amended without shareholder approval (although releasing the parties from the restriction not to transfer the founder shares for 180 days following the date of this prospectus will require the prior written consent of the underwriter). While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to the letter agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to the letter agreement. Any such amendments to the letter
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agreement would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire without value to the holder.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy Although our founding team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular partner business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a partner business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm regarding fairness. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holder and Non-U.S. Holder Defined”) of our ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend upon the status of an acquired company pursuant to a business combination and whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations— Considerations for U.S. Holders – Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances, the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would likely be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. Holders to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to holders of our ordinary shares and warrants. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations — Considerations for U.S. Holders – Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
Our initial business combination or reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrant holders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Act, effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located, or reincorporate in another jurisdiction. Such transactions may require a shareholder or warrant holder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident (or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity), in which the target company is located, or in which we reincorporate. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to pay such taxes. Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
If we reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
If we relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
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Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire without value to the holder.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire without value to the holder.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
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We may be able to complete only one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will provide us with $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our initial business combination (and pay $7,000,000, or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full, of deferred underwriting commissions in connection therewith).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| • | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| • | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
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Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will complete such business combination only if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new ordinary shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
The exercise price for the warrants is higher than in many similar blank check company offerings in the past, and, accordingly, the warrants are more likely to expire without value to the holder.
The exercise price of the warrants is higher than is typical in many similar blank check companies in the past. Historically, the exercise price of a warrant was generally a fraction of the purchase price of the units in the initial public offering. The exercise price for our warrants is $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. As a result, the warrants are more likely to expire without value to the holder.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the
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time to consummate an initial business combination. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law. A resolution is deemed to be a special resolution as a matter of Cayman Islands law where it has been approved by either (1) holders of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s ordinary shares at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or (2) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that special resolutions must be approved either by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law) (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
Certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by holders of a certain percentage of the company’s shares. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by holders holding between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shares. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that any of its provisions, including those related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances), may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our ordinary shares (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting). Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete our initial business combination with which you do not agree. In certain circumstances, our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business
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combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate.
In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our directors, officers or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire without value to the holder.
Our initial shareholders will control the appointment of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of the founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination.
Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our directors or officers, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial shareholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any Class A ordinary shares in this offering or in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a shareholder vote at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if
| (i) | we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share; |
| (ii) | the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and |
| (iii) | the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, |
then (i) the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, (ii) the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and (iii) the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the
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price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 6,666,667 Class A ordinary shares (or up to 7,666,667 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment as described herein), as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 4,933,333 (or 5,333,333 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Our initial shareholders currently hold 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised). The Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants or conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us; (2) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), or international financing reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
We may face risks related to companies in the technology industries.
Business combinations with companies in the technology industries entail special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with such a target business, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:
| • | an inability to compete effectively in a highly competitive environment with many incumbents having substantially greater resources; |
| • | an inability to manage rapid change, increasing consumer expectations and growth; |
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| • | an inability to build strong brand identity and improve subscriber or customer satisfaction and loyalty; |
| • | a reliance on proprietary technology to provide services and to manage our operations, and the failure of this technology to operate effectively, or our failure to use such technology effectively; |
| • | an inability to deal with our subscribers’ or customers’ privacy concerns; |
| • | an inability to attract and retain subscribers or customers; |
| • | an inability to license or enforce intellectual property rights on which our business may depend; |
| • | any significant disruption in our computer systems or those of third parties that we would utilize in our operations; |
| • | an inability by us, or a refusal by third parties, to license content to us upon acceptable terms; |
| • | potential liability for negligence, copyright, or trademark infringement or other claims based on the nature and content of materials that we may distribute; |
| • | competition for advertising revenue; |
| • | competition for the leisure and entertainment time and discretionary spending of subscribers or customers, which may intensify in part due to advances in technology and changes in consumer expectations and behavior; |
| • | disruption or failure of our networks, systems or technology as a result of computer viruses, “cyber-attacks,” misappropriation of data or other malfeasance, as well as outages, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, accidental releases of information or similar events; |
| • | an inability to obtain necessary hardware, software and operational support; and |
| • | reliance on third-party vendors or service providers. |
Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to the technology industries. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks we will be subject to risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, which may or may not be different than those risks listed above.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
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Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (1) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (2) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include two-year director terms and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
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After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
While we intend to focus our search for a target business operating in the technology industries globally, if our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign market, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| • | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| • | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| • | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | tax consequences, such as tax law changes, including termination or reduction of tax and other incentives that the applicable government provides to domestic companies, and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| • | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
| • | deterioration of political relations with the United States; |
| • | obligatory military service by personnel; and |
| • | government appropriation of assets. |
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We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such combination or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, any or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the company, and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
We employ a mail forwarding service, which may delay or disrupt our ability to receive mail in a timely manner.
Mail addressed to the company and received at its registered office will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by company to be dealt with. None of the company, its directors, officers, advisors or service providers (including the organization which provides registered office services in the Cayman Islands) will bear any responsibility for any delay howsoever caused in mail reaching the forwarding address, which may impair your ability to communicate with us.
Risks Relating to the Trust Account
The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we do not to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income, net of taxes paid or payable (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial business combination, $100,000 of interest). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
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You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
If the funds not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our initial business combination. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire without value to the holder. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we may depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1,900,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,500,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,500,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us in such circumstances. Any such loans may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire without value to the holder. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the statements contained in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
| • | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| • | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses; |
| • | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| • | our directors and officers allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
| • | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; |
| • | the ability of our directors and officers to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
| • | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| • | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| • | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| • | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| • | our financial performance following this offering. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We are offering 20,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.
| | Without Over-Allotment Option | | Over-Allotment Option Exercised |
Gross proceeds | | | | | | | | |
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) | | $ | 200,000,000 | | | $ | 230,000,000 | |
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement | | | 7,400,000 | | | | 8,000,000 | |
Total gross proceeds | | $ | 207,400,000 | | | $ | 238,000,000 | |
Estimated offering expenses(2) | | | | | | | | |
Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3) | | $ | 4,000,000 | | | $ | 4,600,000 | |
Legal fees and expenses | | $ | 350,000 | | | $ | 350,000 | |
Accounting fees and expenses | | $ | 40,000 | | | $ | 40,000 | |
Printing and engraving expenses | | $ | 35,000 | | | $ | 35,000 | |
SEC expenses | | $ | 35,000 | | | $ | 35,000 | |
FINRA expenses | | $ | 40,000 | | | $ | 40,000 | |
Road shows | | $ | 20,000 | | | $ | 20,000 | |
Directors and officers insurance premiums | | $ | 800,000 | | | $ | 800,000 | |
NASDAQ listing and filing fees | | $ | 80,000 | | | $ | 80,000 | |
Miscellaneous expenses(4) | | $ | 100,000 | | | $ | 100,000 | |
Total estimated offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) | | $ | 1,500,000 | | | $ | 1,500,000 | |
Proceeds after estimated offering expenses | | $ | 201,900,000 | | | $ | 231,900,000 | |
Held in trust account(3) | | $ | 200,000,000 | | | $ | 230,000,000 | |
% of public offering size | | | 100 | % | | | 100 | % |
Not held in trust account(2) | | $ | 1,900,000 | | | $ | 1,900,000 | |
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,900,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account(5).
| | Amount | | % of Total |
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination(6) | | $ | 500,000 | | 26.2 | % |
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations | | $ | 250,000 | | 13.2 | % |
Payment for office space, administrative and support services | | $ | 600,000 | | 31.6 | % |
Reserve for liquidation expenses | | $ | 100,000 | | 5.3 | % |
NASDAQ continued listing fees | | $ | 160,000 | | 8.4 | % |
Other miscellaneous expenses | | $ | 290,000 | | 15.3 | % |
Total | | $ | 1,900,000 | | 100.0 | % |
____________
(1) | Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination. |
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(2) | A portion of the offering expenses have been paid from the proceeds of loans from our sponsor of up to $175,000 as described in this prospectus. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,900,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. These expenses are estimates only. In the event that offering expenses are less than as set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. In the event that the offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account. |
(3) | The underwriter has agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $7,000,000, which constitutes the underwriter’s deferred commissions (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriter from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds, less amounts used to pay redeeming shareholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriter will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. |
(4) | Includes organizational and administrative expenses and may include amounts related to above-listed expenses in the event actual amounts exceed estimates. |
(5) | These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring a business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify an acquisition target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account. Based on current interest rates, we would expect approximately $400,000 to be available to us from interest earned on the funds held in the trust account over the 12 months following the closing of this offering; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. This estimate assumes an interest rate of 0.20% per annum based upon current yields of securities in which the trust account may be invested. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. |
(6) | Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing. |
The rules of NASDAQ provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), including $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will, upon the consummation of this offering, be placed in a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Based on current interest rates, we estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $400,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.20% per year. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, if any. The funds held in the trust account will otherwise not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to
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redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Based on current interest rates, we expect that interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay taxes.
The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination and to pay the deferred underwriting commissions. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $25,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $175,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,900,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may also purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which shareholders to seek to acquire shares. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in
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connection with our initial business combination. However, such persons have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions and the agreement for our initial business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination, and may instead search for an alternate business combination.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.
Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as described elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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DIVIDEND POLICY
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a capitalization or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
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DILUTION
The difference between the public offering price per Class A ordinary share, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares.
At February 5, 2021, our net tangible book value was a deficiency of $155,000, or approximately $(0.03) per Class B ordinary share. After giving effect to the sale of 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus(or 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at February 5, 2021 would have been $5,000,007 or $0.83 per share, (or $0.73 per share if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of 18,990,744 Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash and, (or 21,885,744 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) of $0.86 per share (or $0.76 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution of $9.17 per share or 91.7% to our public shareholders not exercising their redemption rights. The dilution to new investors if the underwriter exercises the over-allotment option in full would be an immediate dilution of $ 9.27 per share or 92.7%.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:
| | Without Over-allotment | | | With Over-allotment | |
Public offering price | | $ | 10.00 | | | $ | 10.00 | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | $ | (0.03 | ) | | $ | (0.03 | ) |
Increase attributable to public shareholders | | $ | 0.86 | | | $ | 0.76 | |
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants | | $ | 0.83 | | | $ | 0.73 | |
Dilution to public shareholders | | $ | 9.17 | | | $ | 9.27 | |
Percentage of dilution to public shareholders | | | 91.7 | % | | | 92.7 | % |
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) by $189,907,440 because holders of up to approximately 95.0% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per-share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or shareholders meeting, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering).
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The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the public shareholders:
| | Shares Purchased | | Total Consideration | | Average Price Per Share |
| | Number | | Percentage | | Amount | | Percentage | |
Initial Shareholders(1)(2) | | 5,000,000 | | 20.00 | % | | $ | 25,000 | | 0.01 | % | | $ | 0.005 |
Public Shareholders | | 20,000,000 | | 80.00 | % | | $ | 200,000,000 | | 99.99 | % | | $ | 10.000 |
| | 25,000,000 | | 100.00 | % | | $ | 200,025,000 | | 100.00 | % | | | |
____________
(1) | Assumes the full forfeiture of 750,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised. |
(2) | Assumes conversion of Class B ordinary shares into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The dilution to public shareholders would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon such conversion. |
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering is calculated as follows:
| | Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment | |
Numerator: | | | | | | | | |
Net tangible book value before this offering | | $ | (155,000 | ) | | $ | (155,000 | ) |
Proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants, net of expenses (including non-deferred underwriting commissions) (1) | | | 201,900,000 | | | | 231,900,000 | |
Offering costs accrued for and paid in advance, excluded from net tangible book value before this offering | | | 162,447 | | | | 162,447 | |
Less: deferred underwriter’s commissions payable | | | (7,000,000 | ) | | | (8,050,000 | ) |
Less: amount of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001(2) | | | (189,907,440 | ) | | | (218,857,440 | ) |
| | $ | 5,000,007 | | | $ | 5,000,007 | |
Denominator: | | | | | | | | |
Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding prior to this offering(3) | | | 5,000,000 | | | | 5,750,000 | |
Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered | | | 20,000,000 | | | | 23,000,000 | |
Less: shares subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001 | | | (18,990,744 | ) | | | (21,885,744 | ) |
| | | 6,009,256 | | | | 6,864,256 | |
____________
(1) | Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $1,500,000 and underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 (or $4,600,000 if the over-allotment is exercised in full, in each case, excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of Proceeds.” |
(2) | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. In the event of any such purchases of our shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption will be reduced by the amount of any such purchases, increasing the pro forma net tangible book value per share. See “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities.” |
(3) | Assumes that 750,000 founder shares are surrendered to us for no consideration if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised. |
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at February 5, 2021, and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our 20,000,000 units in this offering for $200,000,000 (or $10.00 per unit) and the sale of 4,933,333 private placement warrants for $7,400,000 (or $1.50 per warrant) and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities, assuming no exercise by the underwriter of its option to purchase additional units:
| | February 5, 2021 |
| | Actual | | As Adjusted(2) |
Notes payable to related party(1) | | $ | — | | | | — | |
Deferred underwriting commissions | | | — | | | | 7,000,000 | |
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 200,000,000 shares authorized; -0- and 18,990,744 shares are subject to possible redemption, respectively(3) | | | — | | | | 189,907,440 | |
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted | | | — | | | | — | |
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 200,000,000 shares authorized -0- and 1,099,256 shares issued and outstanding (excluding -0- and 18,990,744 shares subject to possible redemption), actual and as adjusted, respectively | | | — | | | | 101 | |
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized, 5,750,000 and 5,000,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively(4) | | | 575 | | | | 500 | |
Additional paid-in capital(5) | | | 24,425 | | | | 5,016,959 | |
Accumulated deficit | | | (17,553 | ) | | | (17,553 | ) |
Total shareholders’ equity | | $ | 7,447 | | | | 5,000,007 | |
Total capitalization | | $ | 7,447 | | | | 201,907,447 | |
____________
(1) | Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $175,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. |
(2) | Assumes the full forfeiture of 750,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised. The proceeds of the sale of such shares will not be deposited into the trust account, the shares will not be eligible for redemption from the trust account nor will they be eligible to vote upon the initial business combination. |
(3) | Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 following such redemptions, and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination. |
(4) | Actual share amount is prior to any forfeiture of founder shares by our sponsor and as adjusted share amount assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option. |
(5) | The “as adjusted” additional paid-in capital calculation is equal to the “as adjusted” total shareholder’s equity of $5,000,007, minus Class A ordinary shares (par value) of $101 minus Class B ordinary shares (par value) of $500, minus the accumulated deficit of $(17,553). |
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a newly organized blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.
The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preferred shares in a business combination:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preferred shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares; |
| • | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present directors and officers; |
| • | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants. |
Similarly, if we issue debt or otherwise incur significant indebtedness, it could result in:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at February 5, 2021 we had no cash, a working capital deficit of $155,000 and deferred offering costs of $162,447. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs
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in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares to our sponsor and up to $175,000 in loans from our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. We estimate that the net proceeds from (1) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $1,500,000 and underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 ($4,600,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full)), and (2) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $7,400,000 (or $8,000,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $201,900,000 (or $231,900,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $200,000,000 or $230,000,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full, including $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions will be deposited into the trust account. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. We will disclose in each quarterly and annual report filed with the SEC prior to our initial business combination whether the proceeds deposited in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds or a combination thereof. The remaining $1,900,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,500,000 we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,500,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our taxes. We expect the only taxes payable by us out of the funds in the trust account will be income and franchise taxes, if any. To the extent that our ordinary shares or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us $1,900,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, and to pay taxes to the extent the interest earned on the trust account is not sufficient to pay our taxes.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are
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not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $500,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combinations; $250,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $160,000 for NASDAQ continued listing fees; $600,000 for office space, administrative and support services; $100,000 as a reserve for liquidation expenses and approximately $290,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves net of estimated interest income.
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target
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business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
| • | staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties; |
| • | reconciliation of accounts; |
| • | proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate; |
| • | evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions; |
| • | documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and |
| • | documentation of accounting policies and procedures. |
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent auditors to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Related Party Transactions
On February 5, 2021, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will also pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $25,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Our sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
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Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $175,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,900,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 4,933,333 (or 5,333,333 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($7,400,000 in the aggregate or $8,000,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Our sponsor will be permitted to transfer the private placement warrants held by it to certain permitted transferees, including our directors and officers and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to them, but the transferees receiving such securities will be subject to the same agreements with respect to such securities as our sponsor. Otherwise, these warrants will not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. The private placement warrants may also be exercised by our sponsor or its permitted transferees for cash or on a cashless basis and our sponsor and its permitted transferees will also have certain registration rights related to the private placement warrants, as described below. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we will enter into with our initial shareholders on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders, and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the securities covered thereby are released from their lock-up restrictions, as described herein. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See “Principal Shareholders — Registration Rights.”
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of February 5, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have conducted no operations to date.
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JOBS Act
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things: (1) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (2) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (3) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis); and (4) disclose certain executive compensation-related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our initial public offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
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PROPOSED BUSINESS
General
Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I is a newly incorporated blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman corporation, incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any potential business combination target and have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target.
Our objective is to generate attractive and sustainable long-term returns for our shareholders by identifying compelling opportunities and enhancing long-term value by driving operational and financial improvements once a business combination is made. We will target potential companies that we believe can greatly benefit from our founders’ sector expertise, relationships and public market experience. While we may pursue an initial target business in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we intend to focus our search on high-growth businesses across consumer technology and related sectors.
Our Company
MPAC was founded by Brian Sharples and G. Cotter Cunningham, two highly credentialed former public company CEOs with proven track records of building disruptive consumer technology companies that have successfully accessed the public market. Our founders bring over 50 years of investing and operating experience and have demonstrated their ability to identify, and successfully execute against, the massive disruptive trends that define today’s consumer technology landscape. MPAC is the result of a multi-decade professional relationship between Sharples and Cunningham and is designed to capitalize on their complementary expertise and relationships. Coupled with their highly regarded reputation across the consumer technology ecosystem, we believe our founders will enjoy a competitive advantage in sourcing propriety opportunities and be viewed as a preferred partner, which will have a favorable impact on our ability to effectuate an attractive combination. We believe their significant operating and growth expertise and a deep understanding of managing public companies will also bring to bear significant long-term value for our shareholders.
In addition, Next Coast Ventures (“NCV”), a leading investment firm focused on early-stage consumer, enterprise and emerging platform opportunities, is a member of our sponsor group. NCV was founded in 2015 and has since invested in over 55 companies. NCV consists of seven investment and operational professionals and is advised by eight highly credentialed senior advisors, including Sharples and Cunningham, who are also LPs in the funds. MPAC will target opportunities not covered by existing NCV fund strategies and will be highly complementary to the broader NCV platform. Consequently, we will have complete access to, and expect to fully leverage, the relationships, expertise and resources of NCV.
Our Sponsor
Our sponsor is Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC, whose members include Next Coast Ventures, LLC, Next Coast Ventures II, L.P., NCV Entrepreneurs Fund II, L.P., Brian Sharples, our Chairman of the Board of Directors, G. Cotter Cunningham, our Chief Executive Officer, and certain other individuals.
Brian Sharples
Brian Sharples is a seasoned entrepreneur, public company executive and angel investor who has taken two companies public and served as a director on multiple public boards. Sharples has an established record of identifying and executing against disruptive trends, as evidenced by HomeAway, which he co-founded in 2005 and was sold to Expedia in 2015 for $3.9 billion.
Sharples is currently serving on the public boards of GoDaddy (GDDY), Avalara (AVLR), Yelp (YELP) and Ally Financial (ALLY). He also serves on the board of private equity (PE)-backed company RVShare and is an advisor to Next Coast Ventures (Venture Capital) and Tritium Partners (Private Equity). He is also a member of Next Coast Ventures’ Entrepreneurs Council.
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Sharples was the chief executive officer of HomeAway, which he founded with Carl Shepherd. Over a 10-year span, he raised over $400 million in private equity funding to build the platform, scale the team and aggressively expand the business around the world. The genesis of HomeAway was a “blank check” commitment to Sharples from Austin Ventures in 2004 for up to $50 million to either start or buy a technology-enabled business. After researching several market opportunities for approximately four months, Sharples settled on trying to disrupt the online vacation rental market by pioneering a global platform for second-home rentals. Recognizing that several entrepreneurs had already started penetrating local markets (such as VRBO in the U.S. and Holiday Rentals in the U.K.), Sharples and Shepherd decided on a strategy of both buying existing businesses and aggressively building a common platform for organic growth. After its launch in February 2005 and over the next decade, HomeAway became one of the largest and most profitable vacation rental company in the world. HomeAway went public in 2011 and was sold to Expedia four years later for $3.9 billion. The company now operates under the brand VRBO as part of Expedia Group.
Under Sharples’ and Shepherd’s stewardship, HomeAway was active in serving hundreds of charities around the world, offering significant contributions of time and energy to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. The company was also a leader in providing employment for disabled individuals and had a strong focus on diversity within its management and leadership team.
Prior to HomeAway, Sharples was the president and chief executive officer of IntelliQuest Information Group, a supplier of marketing data and research to Fortune 500 technology companies. During his 10 years with the company, the business was twice recognized as one of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. An expert in brand strategy, Sharples has advised several major tech brands, including Apple, HP, Microsoft and Dell. IntelliQuest went public in 1996, and he continued on as CEO until the sale of the company in 1999 to Naviant and WPP Group.
Prior to IntelliQuest, Sharples was the founder and director of automotive marketplace iMotors, a company that eventually raised nearly $120 million to build an efficient and safe online marketplace for used cars. Sharples was the initial CEO of the company, but he left to pursue the IntelliQuest opportunity after recruiting an accomplished automotive executive as CEO to replace him. He remained a director until the company was sold to AutoNation in 2000.
Prior to iMotors, Sharples was a consultant at Bain & Co., with a focus on the technology sector.
In financing his ventures, Sharples has worked directly with some of the top venture capital and late-stage private equity funds in the U.S., including Summit Partners, Austin Ventures, Redpoint, TCV, IVP, Tiger Global, Google Ventures, and Trident Capital.
In addition to his current public board roles, Sharples has served on multiple other public boards, including Kayak and RetailMeNot, and served as the chairman of the HomeAway board. He has also been an active angel investor for the past 15 years, with private investments in over 30 companies and board roles in several. Sharples was the recipient of the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year Services Award in 2012 for his work at HomeAway.
Sharples holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he has lectured on board governance. He also teaches the HomeAway Case Study annually at Harvard Business School.
G. Cotter Cunningham
G. Cotter Cunningham is also a seasoned entrepreneur, public company executive and angel investor who has taken two companies public and served as a director on multiple corporate boards. Cunningham was previously Chairman, Founder and CEO at RetailMeNot, which he built after receiving a $30 million “blank check” from Austin Ventures in 2009. After an extensive search, he focused on consolidating the online coupon space, where he proceeded to acquire numerous companies over the next 10 years.
RetailMeNot became a leading savings destination that enables brands to engage active shoppers and influence purchase decisions. After founding the company in 2009, Cunningham raised more than $275 million from
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investors, including Austin Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, GV, IVP and JP Morgan, before leading the organization to an IPO in July 2013. After several years as a public company, in 2017 he led RetailMeNot through an acquisition by Harland Clarke.
Through these efforts, Cunningham has made a significant impact on the technology business environment in Austin, Texas.
Prior to RetailMeNot, Cunningham served as a CEO-in-Residence for Austin Ventures. Cunningham also was the senior vice president and chief operating officer of Bankrate for seven years, taking the company public. He holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University and is on the board of directors for several private companies and the President’s Austin Innovation Board at the University of Texas. He also currently serves on the Entrepreneurs Council at Next Coast Ventures and is an advisor to Tritium Partners.
Next Coast Ventures
NCV is a leading investment firm focused on early-stage consumer, enterprise and emerging platform opportunities. NCV was founded in 2015 by Thomas Ball and Michael Smerklo, two seasoned investors. Since its founding, the firm has invested in over 55 companies across two funds, NCV I and NCV II. NCV consists of seven investment and operational professionals and is advised by eight highly credentialed senior advisors, including Sharples and Cunningham, who are also LPs in the funds.
NCV is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and is focused on innovation hubs outside of the coastal states. The firm believes there are significant untapped opportunities with highly favorable characteristics in these markets. Over $5 billion has been deployed in early-stage rounds across the markets on which NCV is focused. Approximately 50% of that capital has been deployed across eight key markets, namely, Austin, Denver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit and Raleigh. NCV’s focus has allowed it to become highly entrenched and well-respected across the entrepreneurship and venture ecosystem in these geographies, which it believes has led to its ability to capture differentiated, alpha-generating opportunities.
Market Opportunity
We seek to leverage our combined expertise to acquire a platform that is redefining a category through strong innovation and a deep understanding of its customers—in particular GenZ and millennial consumers, who we believe will be the substantial drivers of consumption and growth over the next decade. We believe there are significant opportunities for value creation as technology continues to permeate every facet of our lives and redefine consumer behavior. Ubiquitous connectivity and increasingly powerful mobile devices have led to the growth of connected consumers who are becoming increasingly sophisticated and discerning. In particular, these younger generations of consumers have, since a very young age, grown up with technology as an integral and essential part of their daily lives. These consumers demand transparency, convenience, extraordinary multitouch customer service and superior value from the products and services they consume. They value experiences more than ownership of physical assets, fueling the growth of platforms such as HomeAway and Airbnb, as well as other experiential and nontraditional marketplaces for travel, entertainment, health and wellness, online learning and education, finance, and even shopping through platforms that bypass traditional offline and online retail. In addition, we believe that traditional marketing channels such as TV advertising, print, direct mail and even online search via platforms such as Google have been augmented, disrupted and even replaced in many cases by myriad social channels, connectivity-fueled word-of-mouth marketing and video-based platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, which have captured a significant share of consumer eyeballs and time spent online.
We believe the ability to capture this group of consumers is critical for reasons beyond their sheer spending power. First, these younger generations are the curators of today’s culture and are driving trends upward, heavily influencing how older generations interact with technology. By securing this critical group first, businesses are able to capture a multigenerational opportunity. Moreover, we believe that technological accessibility and globalization are creating greater similarities across younger generations. These consumers are not homogenous by any means, but there is greater shared behavior than with prior generations, which have often been characterized by unequal access to resources and technology. We believe this presents a massive opportunity—by getting it right with GenZs and millennials, businesses are able to capture an outsize, and often global, opportunity.
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We also believe the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the opportunity set across consumer technology. We believe the impact of the pandemic has accelerated digital adoption and created significant changes in consumer behavior, a combination that is driving growth across multiple subsectors. The ability to live, work, exercise, learn, get entertained and connect from virtually anywhere has given rise to do-it-yourself online platforms that are growing rapidly and that we believe are here to stay. Multiple target companies with significant long-term potential exist in all of these sectors. We believe the pandemic has also created temporary but meaningful market dislocation in certain sectors which we believe has created near-term value compression presenting an attractive entry point for investors. For example, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, industries such as travel, leisure and live entertainment have faced drastic reductions in demand, which has led to steep revenue declines and market underperformance. We believe this represents a temporary shock and hold the long-term thesis that a strong recovery will occur in these sectors, with digital platforms driving the majority of the growth post-pandemic. Our team has significant expertise and sourcing advantages in the online travel and leisure sector, and we believe opportunities exist to provide capital to strong technology-led brands that can benefit as their markets recover. These companies can also benefit from a strong balance sheet, our team’s operating expertise and the ability to fuel expansion both organically and via regional acquisitions.
Against this backdrop, numerous consumer-centric platforms have emerged as trusted online destinations for consumers to discover, connect and transact across a variety of consumer sectors. These companies are leveraging both product innovation and a full spectrum of online marketing channels to be significant disruptors in their categories and build share quickly with the very consumers who will influence and drive economic activity for years to come. Several of these companies have achieved the scale and market readiness to become highly compelling assets for public equity investors and have also demonstrated the ability to create significant barriers to entry as they grow, creating the potential for high profitability and long-term growth. Some of these success stories include goods and services marketplaces such as Etsy, Airbnb, Uber, VRBO, Poshmark, Farfetch, Mercado Libre and Upwork, as well as innovative subscription/subscription-like businesses such as Netflix, Peloton, Shopify, Roku, Chewy and GoodRx and disruptive fintech platforms such as Sofi, Robinhood, Square and Greendot. Our investment focus will be on private companies that have built marketplace platforms, subscription services and online strategies that are poised for continued disruption and can be replicated in markets around the world through both organic and inorganic growth.
We also believe certain sectors across consumer technology present interesting consolidation opportunities. Our founders are deeply entrenched across the ecosystem and are well-positioned to combine market leaders or disruptors that together will have the scale and market share to represent a compelling public company with significant post-IPO growth potential. Similar to the strategy employed in building HomeAway and RetailMeNot, we believe we have the opportunity to identify combinations of businesses that provide a platform for capturing significant market share, while leveraging the operating advantages provided by additional scale. These advantages include the ability to hire and retain world-class talent, enhanced negotiation with suppliers, marketing scale and investment in continued innovation and R&D, as well as the opportunity to leverage the public markets for growth capital, creating a significant advantage over smaller and less well-funded competitors. In these situations, our CEO-led management team can provide significant and meaningful value-add to founders we believe will welcome our expertise on integrating the companies and preparing them for a public listing. We also believe that this sourcing strategy will result in proprietary deal flow versus other SPACs that are only focused on a single acquisition.
We also believe there may be several potential domestic/international combinations that will allow us to create a global leader, with a resulting listing on a U.S. stock exchange. Our team has significant experience with acquisitions in virtually every leading EU country, and we believe that many of the available assets overseas can represent a better value than those in the U.S. As such, we intend to leverage our strong connections in Europe, as well as our board, to seek market-leading businesses in Europe that could benefit from a combination with a similar U.S. platform, creating both scale and a springboard for further international growth.
Our Competitive Advantage
Our sponsors share a strategic vision that we believe will allow us to capture outsize and undervalued market opportunities across consumer technology. We are well-positioned to achieve this by executing against a disciplined framework that leverages our competitive advantages, including:
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Proprietary sourcing engine leveraging depth and breadth of relationships: We intend to capitalize on the established reputations of Sharples and Cunningham and their deep network across the ecosystem to drive proprietary deal flow. Developed over multiple decades, our founders’ hard-to-replicate relationships with entrepreneurs, investors, venture- and late-stage private equity firms, and operators deeply entrench them across the consumer technology landscape. In addition, many of the senior leaders from companies operated by Sharples and Cunningham have gone on to be founders and/or CEOs of successful consumer internet businesses. We have also assembled an experienced board of operators across travel, fintech, consumer services and software and plan to leverage their networks, experience and vision in developing sourcing targets in both the U.S. and Europe. We also believe we have a competitive advantage sourcing outside of Silicon Valley, especially in Central Texas and Austin, specifically, which has quickly become one of the leading regions in the world for technology innovation and disruption.
We also believe there is a unique opportunity for our founders to create exclusive deal flow by seeking to combine industry leaders or disruptors that together will have the scale and market share to represent a compelling public company with significant post-IPO growth potential. We plan to further extend this strategy by sourcing outside the U.S. and looking for domestic/international combinations that will allow us to create a global leader.
In addition, NCV will further supplement and broaden our sourcing funnel by directing proprietary deal flow from its extensive network of entrepreneurs, management teams and former executives of public and private companies, venture capitalists and private equity sponsors.
Disciplined and thesis-driven investment framework and due diligence process: Across our founders, board and advisors/sponsors, we have collectively executed over 100 acquisitions and have developed a proven playbook for evaluating opportunities. In our assessment of potential business combination targets, we intend to apply a thesis-driven, rigorous and value-disciplined approach. Both Sharples and Cunningham operated platforms that were profitable from year one, and we will have a strong focus on profit potential over a three- to five-year period following acquisition, while prioritizing the right investments for continued growth. Our focus will be on opportunities that align with our aforementioned market opportunity and demonstrate key business and financial signals.
Our sponsors will be supported by a dedicated MPAC team that will assist with the evaluation and due diligence of potential opportunities. We will also leverage NCV and external relationships to evaluate market sizing, competitive dynamics and consumer sentiments to assess the long-term attractiveness of potential targets. We will perform fundamental valuation analyses and apply a value-disciplined approach that will allow us to anticipate attractive returns on capital for our investors.
Differentiated sponsorship driving favorable transaction dynamics and long-term value: We are a CEO-led team with a proven track record of successfully building consumer technology platforms and leading them into the public market. Our founders will be dedicated long-term partners and plan to remain highly involved at the board level. Based on our combined 15 years of operating public companies, we believe we are well-positioned to guide a company through the necessary measures needed for a publicly traded entity, as well as to deliver extensive operational experience that can enhance the value of our target post-business combination.
As CEOs, both Sharples and Cunningham were considered to be very strong visionaries, brand stewards and operators by both investors and employees. We have a consistent philosophy of surrounding ourselves with the smartest and most capable business leaders, with little tolerance for those who are not strong team players and a focus on those who can listen just as well as they lead. We are experts at building organizations with complementary skills that can execute an aggressive growth strategy, while driving decision-making and operating responsibility to the places in the organization with the best information and ability to execute quickly. We believe in a culture that rewards data-driven decision-making, which includes a deep understanding of customers, competitors, development cycles, prioritization of projects based on ROI, funnel metrics to minimize cost of customer acquisition and world-class product and service delivery that provides high Net Promoter Scores. We believe that the best leaders exhibit humility as a gateway to continuous learning and improvement, while pushing themselves to do their best work each and every day. We also understand from experience the benefits of setting stretch goals for both the company and individuals, with a regular cadence of measurement, improvement and rewards. Additionally, we have significant public experience in audit, compensation, ESG and governance that we believe will be extremely valuable to
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companies pursuing the SPAC path. We believe this differentiation from other private equity (PE)-led SPACs will resonate with entrepreneurs and will be a significant factor in considering a partner in the public listing process.
As mentioned, we also believe there is a unique opportunity to combine market leaders or disruptors that together will have the scale and market share to represent a compelling public company with significant post-IPO growth potential. Our expertise, reputation and relationships will allow us to assess relative valuations and the most appropriate leadership team to move forward as a public company. We believe there are many market-leading companies that would be compelling potential public company targets. Our resources and expertise, along with the potential for these target companies to achieve public liquidity greater than what could be achieved on a stand-alone basis, can help facilitate an outcome that these companies may be unable to achieve on their own.
We believe these factors will allow us to be viewed as a preferred partner to potential targets, which would be favorable as we seek to effectuate a business combination.
Our Acquisition Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and complete our initial business combination with a company or companies that can benefit from our founders’ operational and investment experience. We expect to favor high-growth, disruptive consumer technology companies in large and growing markets with certain industry and business characteristics. These include but are not limited to:
| • | Disruptive product and service strategy: We will seek businesses that are using technology and leveraging innovative approaches to win against traditional companies serving large and compelling consumer markets. In particular, we’ll focus on businesses that have redefined product and service delivery for the next generation of consumers, who will drive significant economic activity in the decade ahead. |
| • | Long-term growth potential: We will target companies with a demonstrated ability to disrupt, as evidenced by rapid growth and an ability to transform a market or industry through innovation. Often these companies are those that are smaller and start with fewer resources but enter a market by targeting a certain niche, and then use that success to displace previously dominant competitors as its offering is taken up by the broader market. This provides the potential for long-term growth from both market share gains and expansion of existing product offerings. These companies also typically lower the cost of entry for consumers, which can expand an existing market greatly. |
| • | Ability to expand across geographies: We will target companies that have the long-term ability to scale across geographies, either through organic entry or through acquisition. Our team is highly experienced in developing international expansion strategies and building multilingual platforms for rapid integration and managing diverse operations. Geographic expansion is another important long-term growth vector that can help sustain outsize growth over the long term. As a result, we will be initially seeking targets in both the U.S. and Europe and working with all companies to identify long-term geographic expansion opportunities. |
| • | World-class management team: We will seek businesses run by strong and experienced leaders who have developed a deep understanding of their industry, though often disruptive companies will be run by young and innovative founders who are learning to scale on the job. Successful disruptive companies face unique challenges that require continuous team adjustments to mitigate risk, manage rapid growth and capitalize on opportunities. Because our team is CEO-led, we have a unique ability to advise existing management and leverage our networks to augment teams with the talent and resources necessary to realize a company’s ultimate potential. |
| • | Defensible business model with clear competitive moats: We will seek businesses that have the ability to build competitive moats through a combination of scale and network effects. For example, marketplace businesses such as HomeAway are highly defensible as the ecosystem of buyers and sellers grows. Sellers and suppliers want to sell in the marketplaces with the most potential buyers, and we believe buyers will always favor marketplaces that offer the greatest variety and choice. This “virtuous cycle” makes it difficult for new entrants, who must often expend significant resources to catch up to the scale of the market leader. We believe that several opportunities may have the characteristic of leveraging an |
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| | initial business combination of market leaders or disruptors to create the scale required to develop a truly defensible position and platform for continued growth. |
| • | Recurring/reoccurring revenue streams: We will also seek businesses that have a demonstrated ability to benefit from recurring revenue streams such as subscription services or have significant recurring business from existing customers from annual renewals or repeat business. Recurring revenue from existing customers dramatically lowers the cost of acquisition and provides a basis for substantial margin improvement as a business scales. Our team is highly experienced in subscription services and online renewal marketing and management, as well as developing service and communication strategies that can maximize repeat business and lower the overall cost of marketing. |
| • | Opportunity for operational improvement: The core of our strategy is to find highly successful disruptors that also stand to benefit from both a large capital infusion and operational benefits that leverage the experience of our team. Together with our board of directors, we bring decades of experience and wisdom across finance, operations, strategy, brand development, digital marketing, pricing, product development, engineering, corporate governance, compensation, recruiting, CRM and investor relations. As mentioned above, we may also seek to capitalize on companies that have seen some revenue and value compression from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as companies related to travel and leisure. Many of these companies have learned to operate more efficiently out of necessity and will be in a strong position to move quickly to capitalize from these operational improvements as their markets recover. |
| • | Attractive steady-state margins: We will seek businesses that have a clear path to steady-state margins as the business achieves scale. We believe the best public companies are those that can achieve what’s known as the “rule of 40,” which states that at scale, a company’s revenue growth plus net profit margin should be equal or greater to 40%. Our focus will be on companies that we believe can achieve that objective within a five-year window following acquisition. |
Our founders have extensive experience building businesses with these characteristics, as evidenced by HomeAway and RetailMeNot, and are well-positioned to evaluate potential opportunities against these characteristics. Our board also has extensive operational experience and will provide invaluable insight post-combination. Our board includes:
Adam Rogers
Adam Rogers has led a rich career in enterprise SaaS solutions that has spanned over 20 years. He started his career at Ultimate Software as a college intern, eventually serving as CTO and then CEO. As CTO, Rogers and his team created the first enterprise SaaS solution, UltiPro, an award-winning Human Capital Management product that brought to market new advancements like AI, machine learning, predictive and prescriptive analytics, natural language processing and mobile technologies. As CEO, he helped Ultimate Software grow to over 6,000 employees and scale to over $1.4 billion in revenue. He guided an $11 billion take-private deal as well as a $22 billion merger one year later. In his last year as CEO in 2020, Ultimate Software was ranked number two on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Together with Brian Sharples and G. Cotter Cunningham, Rogers is a member of the Entrepreneurs Council at Next Coast Ventures.
Leah Sweet
Leah Sweet is a respected and accomplished technology and e-commerce industry leader recognized for her ability to increase competitive advantages, customer loyalty, employee engagement and profitable growth as an executive at PayPal and American Express by envisioning, planning and operationalizing strategic transformations.
Sweet is a member of the board of directors of GoDaddy Inc. and BMC Technologies. She has held multiple executive-level positions, including senior vice president at PayPal, where her scope of responsibilities incorporated the duties of chief operating officer and chief customer officer, including complete oversight of product operations, strategy and design. She played an instrumental role in quadrupling PayPal’s stock price and expanding top-tier market positions by successfully leading implementation of a five-year agile product development modernization
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program that embedded innovation in the company culture, expedited time to market, and provided more-advanced capabilities that solved customer problems.
Carl Shepherd
Carl G. Shepherd is a veteran of the sharing economy. A semi-retired serial internet entrepreneur, Shepherd co-founded HomeAway, one of the first sharing economy-based companies, in 2005. As Chief Strategic and Development Officer (2005-2015) he was the architect of the company’s acquisition strategy, negotiating and closing 22 acquisitions and investments and served on the board of directors until the company’s sale to Expedia, Inc.
For six years, Shepherd served as the COO and head of corporate development for Hoover’s Online. An internet powered new entrant into the tired world of business information, Hoover’s developed into a leading source for business information online, culminating in an IPO in 1999 and the eventual sale of the company to Dun & Bradstreet in March 2003.
Shepherd has invested and serves on the board of two privately held travel companies, Turnkey Vacation Rentals and HostelWorld, PLC. He is an active angel investor. He is a frequent speaker at travel industry events such as PhocusWright, WIT, EyeForTravel, the China Travel Daily Conference, HostelWorld Conference, and NOAH.
His career began as a consultant, working for what is now Accenture, and establishing a practice based in the advertising industry. He later served as CFO of magazine publishers Texas Monthly, Inc. (Austin, Texas) and Hanley Wood, LLC (Washington D.C.). Shepherd holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration (Advertising) from Texas Christian University and an MBA (Finance) from the University of Texas at Austin.
Andreas Wiele
Andreas Wiele is a highly experienced and entrepreneurial international media and digital senior executive with an outstanding track-record in many different environments and excellent people, creative and financial skills as well as several highly profitable PE-exits.
Wiele is currently serving as Senior Advisor to KKR’s Global TMT Business and founder of a UK-based green tech start-up, Oaktreepower.com. During his 20 year-tenure until May 2020 as member of the executive board of Axel Springer SE, Europe’s largest publisher has become the role model for a successful disruptive transition from a traditional print publisher to Europe’s leading digital media company. During this time, Wiele has steered and completed several dozen acquisitions of digital companies of all sizes, and the company completed and successfully exited important co-investments from PE-companies Hellman & Friedman and General Atlantic. Prior to his time at Axel Springer, Wiele was Chief Operating Officer of Gruner+Jahr USA Publishing in New York City from 1994 to 2000. From 1990 until 1994, Wiele served as Publishing Director of Prisma Presse Snc in Paris, France. Wiele started his career as journalist of a large German newspaper. He earned a Ph.D. in law at the University of Salzburg in Austria and holds law degrees from the Universities of Munich, Germany, and Dijon, France.
Amar Lalvani
Amar Lalvani is CEO of Standard International (the parent company of Standard Hotels) and CEO of Bunkhouse Group. Prior to leading the investment and formation of Standard International he was Chief Investment Officer for Andre Balazs Properties and held various executive roles with Hilton Worldwide and Starwood Hotels & Resorts including leading the global development of W Hotels. Prior to that, Lalvani worked for The Blackstone Group and began his career with Starwood Capital Group. In addition to serving on the Boards of Standard International and Bunkhouse Group, he was a seed investor and Board member of Peloton Interactive. Lalvani has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
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Thomas Ball
Thomas Ball is an experienced investor and entrepreneur. He is a co-founder and Managing Director at NCV, a leading early stage investment firm located in Austin, Texas. Prior to co-founding NCV, he was most recently a General Partner at Austin Ventures (“AV”) where he spent over a decade focused on early and growth stage investments primarily in Austin. Ball has invested in, been intimately involved with and/or served on the boards of numerous private and public companies including Goja, Enboarder, Trust Radius, RetailMeNot (where he was the first investor and external board member and remained on the board through IPO and subsequent acquisition), Silvercar (acquired by Audi), Jam City, Donuts, Adometry (acquired by Google), Bazaarvoice (IPO), Convio (IPO) and Jigsaw Data (acquired by Salesforce).
Prior to joining AV, Ball was a serial entrepreneur having founded or co-founded multiple companies including Razorgator Interactive/Openfield Technologies, Tahoe Domains, and eCoupons.
In addition to his investing and entrepreneurial career, Ball currently serves or has previously served on numerous non-profit boards including Austin PBS, Entrepreneurs Fund of Central Texas, and the Busby Foundation.
Ball holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, a BS degree from the University of Florida, and is a Kauffman Fellow.
Initial Business Combination
NASDAQ rules require that our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that
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is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience in evaluating each prospective business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Affiliates of NCV and members of our board of directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers or directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually selected nor considered a target business nor have they had any substantive discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriter or other advisors. NCV is continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with our company. We have not (nor have any of our agents or affiliates) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us and we will not consider a business combination with any company that has already been identified to NCV as a suitable acquisition candidate for it, unless NCV, in its sole discretion, declines such potential business combination or makes available to us a co-investment opportunity in accordance with NCV’s applicable existing and future policies and procedures. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any substantive measure, directly or indirectly, to select or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to select or locate any such acquisition candidate.
NCV may manage multiple investment vehicles and raise additional funds and/or successor funds in the future, which may be during the period in which we are seeking our initial business combination. These NCV investment entities may be seeking acquisition opportunities and related financing at any time. We may compete with any one or more of them on any given acquisition opportunity.
Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets
We believe our management team’s significant operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring, financing and selling businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Management” for a more complete description of our management team’s experience.
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In addition, members of our management team have developed contacts from serving on the Boards of Directors of several companies. We believe this network provides our management team with a robust and consistent flow of acquisition opportunities which were proprietary or where a limited group of investors were invited to participate in the sale process. We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our management team will provide us with important sources of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our directors and officers currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriter’s ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests and the ability to use its equity as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and
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exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to SEC rules from time to time), or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (i) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter or (ii) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $193,000,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $221,950,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of up to $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-
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transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other businesses or assets or for working capital.
We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions with any business combination target. Additionally, we have not engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, to conduct any research or take any measures, directly or indirectly, to locate or contact a target business, other than our officers and directors. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.
We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by applicable law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination
The NASDAQ rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses. If our board is not able independently to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
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In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information, which will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of business diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| • | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and |
| • | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited ability to evaluate the target’s management team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following our initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Shareholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
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Under the rules of NASDAQ, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| • | we issue Class A ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our Class A ordinary shares then outstanding (other than in a public offering); |
| • | any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by NASDAQ rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
| • | the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
The Companies Act and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder approval of our initial business combination.
Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities
In the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of securities such persons may purchase. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. In the event our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates determine to any such transactions, such transactions could have the effect of influencing the vote necessary to approve such transaction. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. They will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to (1) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (2) to clear certain trades prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
The purpose of such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of our initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business
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combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and/or any of their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of public shares) following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates enter into a private transactions, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination. Such persons would select the shareholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, directors, officers and/or any of their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will be restricted unless such purchases are made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, directors, officers and/or any of their affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of ordinary shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. At the completion of our initial business combination, we will be required to purchase any ordinary shares properly delivered for redemption and not withdrawn. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriter. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (1) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a shareholder
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vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| • | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
| • | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.
If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| • | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
| • | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our NASDAQ listing or Exchange Act registration.
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that at the time of any shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our
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issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of a business combination.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible assets test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
Limitation on redemption upon completion of our initial business combination if we seek shareholder approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares, without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights
We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a shareholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such
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shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or two business days prior to the scheduled date of the general meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable (unless we elect to allow additional withdrawal rights). Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of this offering.
Redemption of public shares and liquidation if no initial business combination
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no
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redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire without value to the holder if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period.
Our initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period.
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $1,900,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, or upon the exercise of a
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redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our other officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.00 per share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1,900,000 from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,500,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,500,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a voidable performance. As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
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Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.
Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain a provision which provides that, if we seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such amendment. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that:
| • | prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either (1) seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at a general meeting called for such purpose at which public shareholders may seek to redeem their public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), or (2) provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to tender their public shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein; |
| • | in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions |
| • | if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company; |
| • | if our initial business combination is not consummated within 24 months from the closing of this offering, then our existence will terminate and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account; and |
| • | prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination. |
These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we may consummate our initial business combination only if approved by a majority of the ordinary shares voted by our shareholders at a duly held shareholders meeting.
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Additionally, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and that holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Comparison of redemption or purchase prices in connection with our initial business combination and if we fail to complete our initial business combination.
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.
| | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
Calculation of redemption price | | Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust fund and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriter’s | | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Such purchases will be restricted except to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions. | | If we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses)), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares. |
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| | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
| | fees and commissions and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. | | | | |
Impact to remaining shareholders | | The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions and interest withdrawn in order to pay our taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account). | | If the permitted purchases described above are made there would be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. | | The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions. |
Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriter will not exercise its over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Escrow of offering proceeds | | The rules of NASDAQ provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. $200,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. | | Approximately $170,100,000 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering less allowable underwriting commissions, expenses and company deductions under Rule 419, would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Investment of net proceeds | | $200,000,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. | | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. |
Receipt of interest on escrowed funds | | Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (1) any taxes paid or payable and (2) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. | | Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination. |
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | | The NASDAQ rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). | | The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. |
Trading of securities issued | | The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of | | No trading of the units or the underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
| | such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option. | | |
| | Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. | | |
Exercise of the warrants | | The warrants cannot be exercised until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination | | The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account. |
Election to remain an investor | | We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, we hold a shareholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy | | A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his, her or its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
| | rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a shareholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. | | |
Business combination deadline | | If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and | | If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
| | (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. | | |
Release of funds | | Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination (including the release of funds to pay any amounts due to any public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights in connection therewith), (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. | | The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a shareholder vote | | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a | | Most blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of shareholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such shareholders in connection with an initial business combination. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
| | “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering), without our prior consent. Our public shareholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. | | |
Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights | | We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. | | In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, holders could vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holders were seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholders to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership. |
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Competition
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our Class A ordinary shares, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination.
Conflicts of Interest
Certain of our officers and directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to NCV and to certain companies in which it has invested. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties, under Cayman Islands law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
In addition, our officers or directors may be investors, or have other direct or indirect interests, in a business with which we may enter into a business combination agreement and/or in certain funds or other persons that may purchase shares in this offering or that may otherwise purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the public market.
Many of our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Indemnity
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has
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sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at 1204 Nueces St., Austin, TX 78701. The cost for this space is included in the $25,000 per month fee that we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have two officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any such person will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We will register our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public auditors.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, U.S. GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with PCAOB standards. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that any applicable requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,
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reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to SEC rules from time to time), or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this prospectus.
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MANAGEMENT
Directors, Director Nominees and Officers
Name | | Age | | Title |
G. Cotter Cunningham | | 58 | | Chief Executive Officer and Director |
Brian Sharples | | 60 | | Chairman of the Board of Directors |
Thomas Ball | | 54 | | Director |
Amar Lalvani | | 46 | | Director Nominee |
Adam Rogers | | 46 | | Director Nominee |
Leah Sweet | | 52 | | Director Nominee |
Andreas Wiele | | 58 | | Director Nominee |
Carl Shepherd | | 68 | | Director Nominee |
Our directors, director nominees and officers are as follows:
G. Cotter Cunningham
G. Cotter Cunningham has been our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since February 2021. From 2009 to 2019, Mr. Cunningham served as Chairman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RetailMeNot, a multinational e-commerce company. From 2019 to 2020, he was Managing Partner at venture capital firm M&F Ventures. He currently serves as an advisor to venture capital firm Next Coast Ventures and private equity firm Tritium Partners. Prior to RetailMeNot, Mr. Cunningham was a CEO-in-Residence at Austin Ventures, a private equity firm, and has also served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Bankrate. He is currently on the board of directors of private companies RateGenius and Hip Ecommerce. Mr. Cunningham holds an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University and a B.B.A. in Economics from the University of Memphis.
We believe that Mr. Cunningham’s perspective as our Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, along with his extensive experience as a successful entrepreneur, makes him a critical member of our board of directors.
Brian Sharples
Brian Sharples has been the Chairman of our Board of Directors since February 2021. From 2005 to 2017, Mr. Sharples was the Chief Executive Officer of HomeAway, a vacation rental company, which he co-founded in 2005. Prior to HomeAway, Mr. Sharples was the President and Chief Executive Officer of IntelliQuest Information Group, a supplier of marketing data and research. Prior to IntelliQuest, he was the Founder and Director of iMotors, an online used vehicle marketplace. Mr. Sharples is currently serving on the public boards of GoDaddy, Avalara, Yelp, and Ally Financial. He also serves on the board of RVShare, an RV rental company, and is an Advisor to venture capital firm Next Coast Ventures and private equity firm Tritium Partners. Within the last five years, Mr. Sharples has also served on the public boards of RetailMeNot and HomeAway. Mr. Sharples holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Colby College.
We believe that Mr. Sharples’ perspective as our Co-Founder, as well as his expansive record of success as a serial entrepreneur, makes him a critical member of our board of directors.
Adam Rogers
Adam Rogers, one of our independent director nominees, began his career at Ultimate Software, a multinational technology company, and has served in numerous roles from 1997 to 2020, culminating in service as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Rogers holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Florida.
We believe that Mr. Rogers’ experience as a software executive and SaaS pioneer brings important and valuable skills to our board of directors and makes him qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
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Leah Sweet
Leah Sweet, one of our independent director nominees, has held multiple executive-level positions at PayPal since 2012, including Senior Director and Senior Vice President. She currently serves on the public boards of GoDaddy and BMC Technologies. Ms. Sweet holds a B.S. in industrial engineering from Iowa State University.
We believe that Ms. Sweet’s experience as an executive in the technology industry brings important and valuable skills to our board of directors and makes her qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Carl G. Shepherd
Carl G. Shepherd, one of our independent director nominees, co-founded HomeAway, one of the first sharing economy-based companies, in 2005, where he served as Chief Strategic and Development Officer until 2015. Mr. Shepherd began his career as a consultant at the predecessor to Accenture plc. Prior to Homeaway, Shepherd has also served as the Chief Operating Officer for Hoover’s Online, a provider of online business information, and as Chief Financial Officer of magazine publishers Texas Monthly, Inc. and Hanley Wood, LLC. Mr. Shepherd currently serves on the boards of hospitality companies Turnkey Vacation Rentals and HostelWorld, PLC. Mr. Shepherd holds an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in Business Administration (Advertising) from Texas Christian University.
We believe that Mr. Shepherd’s experience in the vacation rental industry and his service in executive positions at various technology and publishing companies make him qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Andreas Wiele
Andreas Wiele, one of our independent director nominees, is a Senior Advisor to KKR’s Global TMT Business and is the Founder of Oaktreepower.com, a UK-based green technologies company. Prior to May 2020, Mr. Wiele served for 20 years as a member of the executive board of Axel Springer SE, a German digital publishing company. Prior to his time at Axel Springer, he was Chief Operating Officer of Gruner+Jahr USA Publishing in New York City. From 1990 until 1994, he served as Publishing Director of Prisma Presse Snc in Paris, France. Mr. Wiele started his career as a journalist with a large German newspaper. Mr. Wiele holds a Ph.D. in law from the University of Salzburg, a Master’s degree in law from the University of Munich, and a B.A. in law from the University of Dijon.
We believe that Mr. Wiele’s experiences in the digital publishing and telecommunications industries bring important and valuable skills to our board of directors and make him qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Amar Lalvani
Amar Lalvani, one of our independent director nominees, has been Chief Executive Officer of Standard International, a New York-based hospitality company, since 2013, and Chief Executive Officer of the Bunkhouse Group, a Texas-based hospitality company, since 2015. Prior to his role at Standard International, he was Chief Investment Officer for Andre Balazs Properties from 2011 to 2013, and he has also held various executive roles with Hilton Worldwide and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Mr. Lalvani began his career with Starwood Capital Group and has also worked at The Blackstone Group. In addition to serving on the board of directors of Standard International and Bunkhouse Group, he was previously a board member of Peloton Interactive. Mr. Lalvani holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
We believe that Mr. Lalvani’s executive experience in the hospitality industry brings important and valuable skills to our board of directors and makes him qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Thomas Ball
Thomas Ball has been a member of our board of directors since February 2021. Mr. Ball is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at Next Coast Ventures, an early-stage investment firm. Prior to co-founding Next Coast Ventures in 2015, he was a General Partner at Austin Ventures, a private equity firm, where he spent over a decade focused on early and growth stage investments. Prior to joining Austin Ventures, Mr. Ball has founded or co-
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founded multiple companies, including Razorgator Interactive/Openfield Technologies, Tahoe Domains, and eCoupons. Within the last five years, he has served on the board of directors of public company RetailMeNot, and he has also served on the boards of numerous private companies, including Goja, Enboarder, Trust Radius, Silvercar, Jam City, Donuts, Adometry, BazaarVoice, Convio, and Jigsaw Data. Mr. Ball holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. degree from the University of Florida.
We believe that Mr. Ball’s extensive experience in originating, structuring and monitoring venture capital transactions, as well as his substantial business, leadership and management experience, makes him qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Number, Terms of Office and Appointment of Directors and Officers
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect that our board of directors will consist of six members. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and remove members of the board of directors for any reason, and holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. Each of our directors will hold office for a two-year term. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the shareholders, any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board or by a majority of the holders of our ordinary shares (or, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares).
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that our officers may consist of such offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director Independence
The NASDAQ listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. However, as a “controlled company” we are not obligated to comply with this listing requirement, but we do intend to comply with this requirement as of the closing of this offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person who has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). Our board of directors has determined that Ms. Sweet and Messrs. Ball, Lalvani, Wiele, Shepherd, and Rogers are “independent directors” as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our directors or officers have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on NASDAQ through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $25,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Our sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their affiliates.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other compensation from the combined company. All compensation will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be
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paid to our officers after the completion of our initial business combination will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors.
We are not party to any agreements with our directors and officers that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, and we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination should be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our board of directors will have three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of NASDAQ and Rule 10A of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of NASDAQ require that the compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. The charter of each committee will be available on our website.
Audit Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors. will serve as members of our audit committee. Under the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent, subject to the exception described below. All of the members of our audit committee are independent.
will serve as chair of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We will adopt an audit committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the audit committee, including
| • | assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors; |
| • | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| • | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| • | reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
| • | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors; |
| • | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| • | obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (1) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
| • | meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”; |
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| • | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| • | reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will establish a compensation committee of the board of directors. will serve as members of our compensation committee. Under the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. are independent. will serve as chair of the compensation committee.
We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the purpose and responsibility of the compensation committee, including:
| • | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| • | reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers; |
| • | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| • | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| • | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| • | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| • | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| • | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other advisor and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such advisor. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other advisor, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such advisor, including the factors required by NASDAQ and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors. The members of our nominating and corporate governance will be , and . will serve as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. We will adopt a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which will detail the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
| • | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for appointment at the annual general meeting of shareholders or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
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| • | developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| • | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and |
| • | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
The charter will also provide that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt a code of ethics (our “Code of Ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We will file a copy of our form of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of our Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
| • | duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole; |
| • | duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; |
| • | duty to not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; |
| • | duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; |
| • | duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and |
| • | duty to exercise independent judgment. |
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care, which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge, skill and experience which that director has.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders; provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
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Certain of our officers and directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to NCV and to certain companies in which it has invested. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
Many of our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our directors and officers are also not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, our officers or directors may be investors, or have other direct or indirect interests, in a business with which we may enter into a business combination agreement and/or in certain funds or other persons that may purchase shares in this offering or that may otherwise purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the public market.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:
| • | None of our directors or officers is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities. |
| • | In the course of their other business activities, our directors and officers may become aware of investment and business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. For a complete description of our management’s other affiliations, see “— Directors, Director Nominees and Officers.” |
| • | Our initial shareholders purchased founder shares prior to the date of this prospectus and will purchase private placement warrants in a transaction that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Additionally, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination or certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as described elsewhere in this prospectus. Additionally, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this |
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| | offering. However, if our initial shareholders (or any of our directors, officers or affiliates) acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire without value to the holder. With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial shareholders until the earlier of (1) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (2) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization, or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lock-up. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the ordinary shares underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our sponsor and directors and officers may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and warrants following this offering, our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| • | Our directors and officers may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular business combination. |
| • | Our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such directors and officers was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
If any of the above directors or officers become aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
In addition, our sponsor or any of its affiliates may make additional investments in the company in connection with the initial business combination, although our sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or current intention to do so. If our sponsor or any of its affiliates elects to make additional investments, such proposed investments could influence our sponsor’s motivation to complete an initial business combination.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote any founder shares (and their permitted transferees will agree) and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination.
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Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of directors and officers, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide for indemnification of our directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect.
We will enter into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We may purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our directors and officers against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our directors and officers.
Our officers and directors have agreed, and any persons who may become officers or directors prior to the initial business combination will agree, to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced directors and officers.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
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PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
| • | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares; |
| • | each of our directors, officers and director nominees that beneficially owns ordinary shares; and |
| • | all our directors, officers and director nominees as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
The post-offering ownership percentage column below assumes that the underwriter does not exercise its over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits 750,000 founder shares, and that there are 25,000,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding after this offering.
Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of these entities or individuals is c/o Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I, 1204 Nueces St., Austin, TX 78701.
| | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(1) | | Approximate Percentage of Issued and Outstanding Ordinary Shares |
Before Offering | | After Offering |
Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC(2) | | 5,750,000 | | 100.0 | % | | 20.0 | % |
Brian Sharples(3) | | -- | | -- | | | -- | |
G. Cotter Cunningham(3) | | -- | | -- | | | -- | |
Thomas Ball(3) | | -- | | -- | | | -- | |
Amar Lalvani(3) | | -- | | -- | | | -- | |
Adam Rogers(3) | | -- | | -- | | | -- | |
Leah Sweet(3) | | -- | | -- | | | -- | |
Andreas Wiele(3) | | -- | | -- | | | -- | |
Carl Shepherd(3) | | -- | | -- | | | -- | |
All directors, officers and director nominees as a group (8 individuals)(3) | | -- | | -- | | | -- | |
____________
(1) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities.” |
(2) | Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of such shares. Our sponsor is governed by a board of managers consisting of three managers: Messrs. Sharples, Cunningham, and Ball. Each manager has one vote, and the approval of a majority of the managers is required to approve any action of our sponsor. Under the so-called “rule of three,” because voting and dispositive decisions are made by a majority of our sponsor’s managers, none of the managers of our sponsor is deemed to be a beneficial owner of our sponsor’s securities, even those in which such manager holds a pecuniary interest. Accordingly, none of our directors or officers is deemed to have or share beneficial ownership of the shares held by our sponsor. |
(3) | As noted in footnote (2), none of our directors or officers is deemed to have or share beneficial ownership of the shares held by Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC, our sponsor. Each such person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
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Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own 20.0% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any other units in this offering) and will have the right to appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination as a result of holding all of the founder shares. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. In addition, because of their ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 4,933,333 (or 5,333,333 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($7,400,000 in the aggregate or $8,000,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. The purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account pending our completion of our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire without value to the holder. The private placement warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions described below. The private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering.
Our sponsor and our directors and officers are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” for additional information regarding our relationships with our promoters.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the letter agreement with us to be entered into by our initial shareholders, directors and officers. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (1) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (2) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our directors or officers, any affiliates or family members of any of our directors or officers, any members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of our
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initial business combination; (g) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands or our sponsor’s memorandum and articles of association, as amended, upon dissolution of our sponsor; or (h) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to our Class A ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period, which occurs (1) in the case of the founder shares, on the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (2) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
On February 5, 2021, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 4,933,333 (or 5,333,333 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.50 per warrant in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by it until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our directors and officers currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement with an affiliate of our sponsor, pursuant to which we will pay a total of $25,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services to such affiliate. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Accordingly, in the event the consummation of our initial business combination takes the maximum 24 months, an affiliate of our sponsor will be paid a total of $600,000 ($25,000 per month) for office space, administrative and support services and will be entitled to be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $175,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,900,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. The value of our sponsor’s interest in this loan transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into
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warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans (if any), which is described under the heading “Principal Shareholders — Registration Rights.”
Related Party Policy
We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt our Code of Ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our code of ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company.
In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their affiliates.
These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, directors or officers unless we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
| • | Repayment of an aggregate of up to $175,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; |
| • | Payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of a total of $25,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services; |
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| • | Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and |
| • | Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. |
The above payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith.
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DEScRIPTION OF SECURITIES
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company and our affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which will be adopted upon the consummation of this offering, we will be authorized to issue 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share, and 1,000,000 undesignated preferred shares, $0.0001 par value per share. The following description summarizes the material terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of the company’s Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder.
The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet of the company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering which will include this audited balance sheet. If the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option.
Ordinary Shares
Upon the closing of this offering 25,000,000 ordinary shares will be issued and outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 750,000 founder shares by our sponsor), including:
| • | 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the units being offered in this offering; and |
| • | 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders. |
If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.
Class A ordinary shareholders and Class B ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders and vote together as a single class, except as required by law; provided, that, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and remove members of the board of directors for any reason, and holders of our Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These
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provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. Unless specified in the Companies Act, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders (other than the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination), and, prior to our initial business combination, the affirmative vote of a majority of our founder shares is required to approve the appointment or removal of directors. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Directors are appointed for a term of two years. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the founder shares voted for the appointment of directors can appoint all of the directors prior to our initial business combination. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will authorize the issuance of up to 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of Class A ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
In accordance with the NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or general meetings to appoint directors. We may not hold an annual general meeting of shareholders prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriter. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as described elsewhere in this prospectus. Permitted transferees of our initial shareholders, directors or officers will be subject to the same obligations.
Unlike many blank check companies that hold shareholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, if a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. However, the participation of our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could
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result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the ordinary shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the business combination. As a result, such shareholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 20% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.50%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved; or 1,250,001, or 6.25%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of transaction (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved. Our directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders, directors acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders at such time will be entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to
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redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares
The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that: (1) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; (2) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; (3) our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (4) the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and (5) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights directors and officers. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as described herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt.
With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our directors and officers and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
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Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there shall be entered therein:
| • | the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member and the voting rights of the shares of each member; |
| • | whether voting rights are attached to the share in issue; |
| • | the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and |
| • | the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e., the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members shall be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members shall be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members shall be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
Preferred Shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will authorize 1,000,000 preferred shares and will provide that preferred shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preferred shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preferred shares issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preferred shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preferred shares are being issued or registered in this offering.
Warrants
Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement). Unless we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement, at our discretion, holders of warrants will need to pay the exercise price in cash. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
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We will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption is available. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire without value to the holder. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause such post-effective amendment or registration statement to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a public warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reason-able efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| • | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”) to each warrant holder; and |
| • | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
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Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that during such 30 day period holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis” prior to redemption and receive that number of Class A ordinary shares determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined below) except as otherwise described below; |
| • | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and |
| • | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders, the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants. |
Beginning on the date the notice of redemption is given until the warrants are redeemed or exercised, holders may elect to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis.” The numbers in the table below represent the number of Class A ordinary shares that a warrant holder will receive upon a cashless exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends.
Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to ordinary shares shall include a security other than ordinary shares into which the ordinary shares have been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. The numbers in the table below will not be adjusted when determining the number of ordinary shares to be issued upon exercise of the warrants if we are not the surviving entity following our initial business combination.
The share prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant or the exercise price of the warrant is adjusted as set forth under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. If the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant is adjusted, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the share prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the exercise price of the warrant after such adjustment and the denominator of which is the price of the warrant immediately prior to such adjustment. In such an event, the number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted by multiplying such share amounts by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. If the exercise price of the warrant is adjusted as a result of raising capital in connection with the initial business combination, the adjusted stock prices in the column headings will by multiplied by a fraction, the
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numerator of which is the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price as set forth under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” and the denominator of which is $10.00.
Redemption Date (period to expiration of warrants) | | Fair Market Value of Ordinary Shares |
≤10.00 | | 11.00 | | 12.00 | | 13.00 | | 14.00 | | 15.00 | | 16.00 | | 17.00 | | ≥18.00 |
60 months | | 0.261 | | 0.281 | | 0.297 | | 0.311 | | 0.324 | | 0.337 | | 0.348 | | 0.358 | | 0.361 |
57 months | | 0.257 | | 0.277 | | 0.294 | | 0.310 | | 0.324 | | 0.337 | | 0.348 | | 0.358 | | 0.361 |
54 months | | 0.252 | | 0.272 | | 0.291 | | 0.307 | | 0.322 | | 0.335 | | 0.347 | | 0.357 | | 0.361 |
51 months | | 0.246 | | 0.268 | | 0.287 | | 0.304 | | 0.320 | | 0.333 | | 0.346 | | 0.357 | | 0.361 |
48 months | | 0.241 | | 0.263 | | 0.283 | | 0.301 | | 0.317 | | 0.332 | | 0.344 | | 0.356 | | 0.361 |
45 months | | 0.235 | | 0.258 | | 0.279 | | 0.298 | | 0.315 | | 0.330 | | 0.343 | | 0.356 | | 0.361 |
42 months | | 0.228 | | 0.252 | | 0.274 | | 0.294 | | 0.312 | | 0.328 | | 0.342 | | 0.355 | | 0.361 |
39 months | | 0.221 | | 0.246 | | 0.269 | | 0.290 | | 0.309 | | 0.325 | | 0.340 | | 0.354 | | 0.361 |
36 months | | 0.213 | | 0.239 | | 0.263 | | 0.285 | | 0.305 | | 0.323 | | 0.339 | | 0.353 | | 0.361 |
33 months | | 0.205 | | 0.232 | | 0.257 | | 0.280 | | 0.301 | | 0.320 | | 0.337 | | 0.352 | | 0.361 |
30 months | | 0.196 | | 0.224 | | 0.250 | | 0.274 | | 0.297 | | 0.316 | | 0.335 | | 0.351 | | 0.361 |
27 months | | 0.185 | | 0.214 | | 0.242 | | 0.268 | | 0.291 | | 0.313 | | 0.332 | | 0.350 | | 0.361 |
24 months | | 0.173 | | 0.204 | | 0.233 | | 0.260 | | 0.285 | | 0.308 | | 0.329 | | 0.348 | | 0.361 |
21 months | | 0.161 | | 0.193 | | 0.223 | | 0.252 | | 0.279 | | 0.304 | | 0.326 | | 0.347 | | 0.361 |
18 months | | 0.146 | | 0.179 | | 0.211 | | 0.242 | | 0.271 | | 0.298 | | 0.322 | | 0.345 | | 0.361 |
15 months | | 0.130 | | 0.164 | | 0.197 | | 0.230 | | 0.262 | | 0.291 | | 0.317 | | 0.342 | | 0.361 |
12 months | | 0.111 | | 0.146 | | 0.181 | | 0.216 | | 0.250 | | 0.282 | | 0.312 | | 0.339 | | 0.361 |
9 months | | 0.090 | | 0.125 | | 0.162 | | 0.199 | | 0.237 | | 0.272 | | 0.305 | | 0.336 | | 0.361 |
6 months | | 0.065 | | 0.099 | | 0.137 | | 0.178 | | 0.219 | | 0.259 | | 0.296 | | 0.331 | | 0.361 |
3 months | | 0.034 | | 0.065 | | 0.104 | | 0.150 | | 0.197 | | 0.243 | | 0.286 | | 0.326 | | 0.361 |
0 months | | — | | — | | 0.042 | | 0.115 | | 0.179 | | 0.233 | | 0.281 | | 0.323 | | 0.361 |
The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of ordinary shares to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume weighted average price of our ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $11.00 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.277 ordinary shares for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume weighted average price of our ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.298 ordinary shares for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable on a cashless basis in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). Finally, as reflected in the table above, if the warrants are out of the money and about to expire, they cannot be exercised on a cashless basis in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, since they will not be exercisable for any ordinary shares.
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This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants for cash (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the ordinary shares exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the ordinary shares are trading at or above $10.00 per public share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our ordinary shares is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under “— Redemption of warrants.” Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of the date of this prospectus. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure as the warrants would no longer be outstanding and would have been exercised or redeemed. We will be required to pay the applicable redemption price to warrant holders if we choose to exercise this redemption right and it will allow us to quickly proceed with a redemption of the warrants if we determine it is in our best interest to do so. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay the redemption price to the warrant holders.
As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the ordinary shares are trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the ordinary shares are trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer ordinary shares than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for ordinary shares if and when such ordinary shares were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50.
No fractional ordinary shares will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the ordinary shares pursuant to the warrant agreement (for instance, if we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination), the warrants may be exercised for such security. At such time as the warrants become exercisable for a security other than the ordinary shares, the Company (or surviving company) will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register under the Securities Act the security issuable upon the exercise of the warrants.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his, her or its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of ordinary shares equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” as used in this paragraph shall mean the volume weighted average price of the ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of ordinary shares to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, our sponsor and its permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
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Redemption Procedures. A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (as specified by the holder) of the ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding ordinary shares is increased by a dividend payable in ordinary shares, or by a split-up of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding ordinary shares. A rights offering to holders of ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase ordinary shares at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a share dividend of a number of ordinary shares equal to the product of (i) the number of ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for ordinary shares) multiplied by (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of ordinary shares paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of ordinary shares as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of ordinary shares on account of such ordinary shares (or other shares of our share capital into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each ordinary share in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division or reclassification of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division, reclassification or similar event, the number of ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding ordinary shares.
Whenever the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such ordinary shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding ordinary shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or
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transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of ordinary shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of shares in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of warrants.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive ordinary shares. After the issuance of ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of ordinary shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except, among other limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” to our directors and officers and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor) and they will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. Our sponsor, as well as its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis and will have certain registration rights related to such private placement warrants. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor and its permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could exercise their
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warrants and sell the Class A ordinary shares received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a capitalization or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all liabilities, including judgments, costs and reasonable counsel fees that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan of merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of 66 2⁄3% in value who attend and vote at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (1) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (2) that no petition
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or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (3) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (4) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.
Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (1) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (2) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (3) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (4) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his or her shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give his or her written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his or her shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his or her intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his or her shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his or her shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agrees to the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fails to agree to a price within such 30-day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30-day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not to be available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law also has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, such schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures of which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as
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the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at an annual general meeting, or extraordinary general meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it is satisfied that:
| • | we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and we have complied with the statutory provisions as to majority vote; |
| • | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question; |
| • | the arrangement is such as a business-person would reasonably approve; and |
| • | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.” |
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of U.S. corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through other means to these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, through contractual arrangements, of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability of such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our directors or officers usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
| • | a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority; |
| • | the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes that have actually been obtained; or |
| • | those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.” |
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (1) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state and (2) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal
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in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
| • | an exempted company does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies |
| • | an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection; |
| • | an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
| • | an exempted company may issue shares with no par value; |
| • | an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance); |
| • | an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
| • | an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and |
| • | an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting) cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (1) holders of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s ordinary shares at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or (2) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Other than as described above, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that special resolutions must be approved either by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
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Our initial shareholders, who collectively will beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that:
| • | if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law; |
| • | prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination; |
| • | although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view; |
| • | if a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act; |
| • | as long as our securities are listed on NASDAQ, our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in trust (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust); |
| • | if our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares; and |
| • | we will not effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.
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The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of such company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares attending and voting at a general meeting. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required. Regardless of the required majority, assuming such majority is met, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association notwithstanding anything in its memorandum and articles of association to the contrary. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our directors or officers, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Anti-Money Laundering — Cayman Islands
If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money-laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (1) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering or (2) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
Data Protection — Cayman Islands
We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act, 2017 of the Cayman Islands (the “DPA”) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.
In this subsection, “we”, “us,” “our” and the “Company” refers to Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I or our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.
Privacy Notice
Introduction
This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that through your investment in the company you will provide us with certain personal information which constitutes personal data within the meaning of the DPA (“personal data”).
Investor Data
We will collect, use, disclose, retain and secure personal data to the extent reasonably required only and within the parameters that could be reasonably expected during the normal course of business. We will only process, disclose, transfer or retain personal data to the extent legitimately required to conduct our activities of on an ongoing basis or to comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject. We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.
In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a “data controller” for the purposes of the DPA, while our affiliates and service providers who may receive this personal data from us in the conduct of our activities may either act as our “data processors” for the purposes of the DPA or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.
We may also obtain personal data from other public sources. Personal data includes, without limitation, the following information relating to a shareholder and/or any individuals connected with a shareholder as an investor: name, residential address, email address, contact details, corporate contact information, signature, nationality, place
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of birth, date of birth, tax identification, credit history, correspondence records, passport number, bank account details, source of funds details and details relating to the shareholder’s investment activity.
Who this Affects
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation your investment in the company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should transmit the content of this Privacy Notice to such individuals or otherwise advise them of its content.
How the Company May Use a Shareholder’s Personal Data
The Company, as the data controller, may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:
| (a) | where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements; |
| (b) | where this is necessary for compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering and FATCA/CRS requirements); and/or |
| (c) | where this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and such interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms. |
Should we wish to use personal data for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you.
Why We May Transfer Your Personal Data
In certain circumstances we may be legally obliged to share personal data and other information with respect to your shareholding with the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or the Tax Information Authority. They, in turn, may exchange this information with foreign authorities, including tax authorities.
We anticipate disclosing personal data to persons who provide services to us and their respective affiliates (which may include certain entities located outside the U.S., the Cayman Islands or the European Economic Area), who will process your personal data on our behalf.
The Data Protection Measures We Take
Any transfer of personal data by us or our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA.
We and our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates shall apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
We shall notify you of any personal data breach that is reasonably likely to result in a risk to your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms or those data subjects to whom the relevant personal data relates.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares and preferred shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved ordinary shares and preferred shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
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Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after this offering we will have 25,000,000 (or 28,750,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) ordinary shares issued and outstanding. Of these shares, the 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares (or 23,000,000 shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining 5,000,000 (or 5,750,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) founder shares and all 4,933,333 (or 5,333,333 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering, and are subject to transfer restrictions as set forth elsewhere in this prospectus.
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (1) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (2) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
| • | 1% of the total number of ordinary shares then issued and outstanding, which will equal 250,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 287,500 if the underwriter exercises its over-allotment option in full); or |
| • | the average weekly reported trading volume of the ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
| • | the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; |
| • | the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; |
| • | the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Current Reports on Form 8-K; and |
| • | at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company. |
As a result, our initial shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and our sponsor will be able to sell its private placement warrants, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration, one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
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Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to our Class A ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period, which occurs (1) in the case of the founder shares, on the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (2) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Listing of Securities
We intend to apply to list our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants on NASDAQ under the symbols “MOOSU,” “MOOS” and “MOOSW,” respectively. We expect that our units will be listed on NASDAQ promptly on or after the effective date of the registration statement. Following the date the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed separately and as a unit on NASDAQ. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on NASDAQ.
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Income Tax Considerations
The following is a discussion of Cayman Islands and U.S. federal income tax considerations with respect to an investment in our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants, which we refer to collectively as our securities. This discussion is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This discussion does not address all possible tax considerations with respect to an investment in our securities, such as the tax considerations under state, local and other tax laws.
Prospective investors should consult with their own tax advisors regarding the possible tax consequences of investing in our securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.
Cayman Islands Taxation
The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.
Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporate or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the warrants, the units or the Class A ordinary shares. An instrument of transfer in respect of a warrant, a unit or a Class A ordinary share is stampable if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.
The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, has applied for and received an undertaking from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands in a form substantially similar to the following:
“The Tax Concessions Act
(As Revised)
Undertaking as to Tax Concessions
In accordance with the provision of Section 6 of The Tax Concessions Act (As Revised), the Financial Secretary undertakes with Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital (“the Company”):
| 1. | That no law which is hereafter enacted in the Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the Company or its operations; and |
| 2. | In addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable: |
| 2.1 | On or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the Company; or |
| 2.2 | by way of the withholding in whole or part, of any relevant payment as defined in Section 6(3) of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised). |
These concessions shall be for a period of 30 years from the date hereof.”
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U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations
General
The following is a discussion of U.S. federal income tax considerations related to the acquisition, ownership and disposition by U.S. Holders (as defined below) and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below) of our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants, which we refer to collectively as our securities. Although not entirely clear, we intend to treat, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the holder of a unit as the owner of the one share of the underlying Class A ordinary shares and the one-half of one warrant that are the components of the unit. See “- Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit” below. Assuming such treatment is appropriate, the discussion below with respect to actual holders of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants that constitute the units). This discussion applies only to our securities that are held as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes (generally property held for investment), is applicable only to holders who purchased units in this offering, and assumes any distributions on Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be paid in U.S. dollars.
This discussion is based on the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), U.S. Treasury regulations, administrative rulings and judicial decisions, all as in effect on the date hereof, and all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect. We cannot assure you that a change in law will not significantly alter the tax considerations that we describe in this summary. We have not sought any ruling from the IRS with respect to the statements made and the conclusions reached in the following summary, such statements and conclusions are not free from doubt, and there can be no assurance that the IRS or a court will agree with such statements and conclusions.
This summary does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to holders in light of their personal circumstances. In addition, this summary does not address the Medicare tax on certain investment income, U.S. federal estate or gift tax laws, any state, local or non-U.S. tax laws or any tax treaties. In addition, this discussion does not address all tax considerations that may be important to a particular holder in light of the holder’s circumstances, or to certain categories of investors that may be subject to special rules, such as:
| • | our founders, sponsors, officers or directors or other holders of our Class B ordinary shares or private placement warrants; |
| • | banks, insurance companies or other financial institutions; |
| • | tax-exempt or governmental organizations; |
| • | “qualified foreign pension funds” as defined in Section 897(l)(2) of the Code (or any entities all of the interests of which are held by a qualified foreign pension fund); |
| • | dealers in securities or foreign currencies; |
| • | U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar; |
| • | traders in securities that use the mark-to-market method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes; |
| • | “controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies” and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax; |
| • | partnerships or other pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes or holders of interests therein; |
| • | persons deemed to sell our securities under the constructive sale provisions of the Code; |
| • | persons that acquired our securities through the exercise of employee share options or otherwise as compensation or through a tax-qualified retirement plan; |
| • | persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, appreciated financial position, synthetic security, hedge, conversion transaction or other integrated investment or risk reduction transaction; |
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| • | certain former citizens or long-term residents of the United States; and |
| • | persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more of any class of our shares. |
PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONSULT WITH THEIR TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAWS (INCLUDING ANY POTENTIAL FUTURE CHANGES THERETO) TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATION, AS WELL AS ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES ARISING UNDER THE U.S. FEDERAL ESTATE OR GIFT TAX LAWS OR UNDER THE LAWS OF ANY STATE, LOCAL, NON U.S. OR OTHER TAXING JURISDICTION OR UNDER ANY APPLICABLE INCOME TAX TREATY.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. We intend to treat, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the acquisition of a unit as the acquisition of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant to acquire one Class A ordinary share and, by purchasing a unit, you agree to adopt such treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. Under U.S. federal income tax law, each investor must make its own determination of such value based on all the relevant facts and circumstances. Therefore, each investor is strongly urged to consult with its own tax advisor regarding the determination of value for these purposes. The purchase price allocated to each Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant should be the shareholder’s tax basis in such share or one-half of one warrant, as the case may be. Any disposition of a unit should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as a disposition of the one Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant constituting the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of disposition. The separation of Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting units should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult with its own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holder and Non-U.S. Holder Defined
A “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is:
| • | an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States; |
| • | a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
| • | an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or |
| • | a trust (A) the administration of which is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and which has one or more “United States persons” (within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code) who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (B) that has made a valid election under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person. |
A “Non-U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, an individual, corporation, estate or trust and that is not a U.S. Holder, but such term generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year
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of a disposition. If you are such an individual, you should consult with your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the sale or other disposition of our securities.
If a partnership (including an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in such partnership generally will depend upon the status of the partner, upon the activities of the partnership and upon certain determinations made at the partner level. Accordingly, we urge partners in partnerships (including entities or arrangements treated as partnerships or other pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes) considering the purchase of our securities to consult with their tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal income tax considerations of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our securities by such partnership.
Considerations for U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a U.S. Holder.
Taxation of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares
Subject to the passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) rules discussed below, if we pay distributions of cash or other property to U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares, such distributions generally will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits will constitute a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of a U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares, that will be applied against and reduce (but not below zero) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares. Any remaining excess will be treated as capital gain realized on the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares and will be treated as described under “- Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below.
Dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations. Dividends we pay to a non-corporate U.S. Holder generally will constitute “qualified dividends” that will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate only if our Class A ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States and certain holding period and other requirements are met, including that we are not classified as a PFIC during the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or a preceding taxable year. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A ordinary shares described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. Holder from satisfying the holding period requirements with respect to the preferential tax rate on qualified dividend income. If the holding period requirements are not satisfied, a non-corporate U.S. Holder may be subject to tax on the dividend at regular ordinary income tax rates instead of the preferential rate that applies to qualified dividend income. U.S. Holders should consult with their tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower preferential rate for qualified dividend income for any dividends paid with respect to our Class A ordinary shares.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, which in general would include a redemption of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants that is treated as a sale of such securities as described below, and including as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares or warrants. Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of (as applicable) exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A ordinary shares described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. If the running of the holding period for the Class A ordinary shares is suspended, non-corporate U.S. Holders may not be able to satisfy the one-year holding period requirement for long-term capital gain treatment, in which case any gain on a sale or other taxable disposition of the shares or warrants would be subject to short-term capital gain treatment and would be taxed at regular ordinary income tax rates. Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. Holders will be eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. The
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deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations that are not described herein because the application of these limitations depends on each U.S. Holder’s particular facts and circumstances.
Generally, the amount of gain or loss recognized by a U.S. Holder will be an amount equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the Class A ordinary shares or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the Class A ordinary shares or the warrants based upon the then-fair market values of the Class A ordinary shares and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares or warrants generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, as discussed above, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to the Class A ordinary share or the one-half of one warrant or, as discussed below, the U.S. Holder’s initial basis for our Class A ordinary shares received upon exercise of warrants) less, in the case of a Class A ordinary share, any prior distributions treated as a return of capital, as discussed above.
Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, in the event that a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities – Ordinary Shares” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares in an open market transaction (in either case referred to herein as a “redemption”), the treatment of the transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of the Class A ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described under “- Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a distribution from us with the tax consequences described above under “- Taxation of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares”. Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder as a result, among other thing, of owning warrants) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption. The redemption of our Class A ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale of Class A ordinary shares (rather than as a distribution from us) if the redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests is satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also our shares that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to shares owned directly, shares owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. Holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. Holder, as well as any shares the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include Class A ordinary shares which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of our Class A ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination, the Class A ordinary shares may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all of the shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of the shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed, the U.S. Holder is eligible to waive (and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules) the attribution of shares owned by certain family members, and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other shares in us (including shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder as a result of owning warrants). The redemption of our Class A ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if a U.S. Holder’s redemption results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control
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over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. Holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.
If none of the foregoing tests is satisfied, the redemption will be treated as a distribution from us and the tax considerations will be as described under “- Taxation of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed Class A ordinary shares will be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining shares, or, if it has none, to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other shares in us constructively owned by it.
Exercise or Redemption of a Warrant
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below and except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize gain or loss on the acquisition of Class A ordinary shares upon the exercise of a warrant. The U.S. Holder’s tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares received upon exercise of the warrant generally will be an amount equal to the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrant (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for a unit that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “- Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrant. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share received upon exercise of the warrant will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the date following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current tax law. Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a cashless exercise may be tax-free, either because the exchange is not treated as a realization event or, if it is treated as a realization event, because the exchange is treated as a “recapitalization” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If, however, the cashless exercise were treated as a realization event other than a recapitalization, the exchange could be taxable in whole or in part. Due to the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described herein would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. Holders should consult with their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
We intend to treat any cashless exercise of a warrant occurring after our giving notice of an intention to redeem the warrant for cash as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities – Warrants – Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants” as if we redeemed such warrant for shares in a cashless redemption qualifying as a “recapitalization” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In such case, a U.S. Holder should not recognize any gain or loss on the redemption of warrants for Class A ordinary shares. A U.S. Holder’s aggregate tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received in the redemption should equal the U.S. Holder’s aggregate tax basis in the warrants redeemed, and the holding period for the Class A ordinary shares received in redemption of the warrants would include the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the redeemed warrants. Alternatively, if the cashless exercise were treated as a cashless redemption that was not treated as a realization event, a U.S. Holder’s basis in the Class A ordinary shares received would generally equal the holder’s basis in the warrants, and it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period in the Class A ordinary shares would be treated as commencing on the date of exercise of the warrants or on the date following the date of exercise of the warrants; in either case, the holding period would not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrants.
However, if such cashless exercise of a warrant were instead to be characterized for U.S. federal income tax purposes as an exercise of the warrant, such exercise could be characterized as either a realization event that is not a recapitalization or as not a realization event (as discussed in the immediately preceding paragraph). If treated as a realization event that is not a recapitalization, such a cashless exercise could be treated in whole or in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. For example, a portion of the warrants to be exercised on a “cashless basis” could, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, be deemed to have been surrendered in payment of the exercise price of the remaining portion of such warrants, which would be deemed to be exercised. For this purpose, a U.S. Holder would be deemed to have surrendered a number of warrants having an aggregate value equal to the exercise price of the number of warrants deemed exercised. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount generally equal to the difference between (i) the exercise price of the warrants deemed exercised and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants deemed surrendered. In such case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received would generally equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants
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deemed exercised and the exercise price of the warrants deemed exercised. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares would commence on the date of exercise of the warrants or on the date following the date of exercise of the warrants; in either case, the holding period would not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrants.
Subject to the PFIC rules described below, if we redeem warrants for cash pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities – Warrants – Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants” or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction, such redemption or purchase generally will be treated as a taxable disposition to the U.S. Holder, taxed as described above under “- Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants”.
Expiration of a Warrant
If a warrant is allowed to expire unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for a unit that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “- Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”). The deductibility of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
Possible Constructive Distributions with Respect to Warrants
The terms of the warrants provide for an adjustment to the number of Class A ordinary shares for which warrants may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrants in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities – Warrants – Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants”. An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. Holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease in the exercise price of the warrant) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property to the holders of our ordinary shares which is taxable to the holders of such shares as a distribution. Any such constructive distribution would be subject to tax in the same manner as if the U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased proportionate interest, as described above under “- Taxation of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares”. For certain information reporting purposes, we are required to determine the date and amount of any such constructive distributions. Proposed Treasury regulations, which we may rely on prior to the issuance of final regulations, specify how the date and amount of constructive distributions are determined.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
Adverse U.S. federal income tax rules apply to U.S. Holders that hold shares in a foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation classified as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In general, we will be treated as a PFIC with respect to a U.S. Holder in any taxable year in which, after applying certain look-through rules, either:
(i) at least 75% of our gross income for such taxable year, including our pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which we are considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, consists of passive income (which generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets); or
(ii) at least 50% of our assets in a taxable year (ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year), including our pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which we are considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, produce or are held for the production of passive income.
Because we are a blank check company with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet one or both of the PFIC tests during the taxable years prior to our acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, which would generally result in us being treated as a PFIC in those taxable years. However, pursuant to a “start-up exception,” a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the “start-up year”), if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (2) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the start-up year; and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. If the start-up exception were to apply to us, we would not be a PFIC during our start-up year. The applicability of the start-up exception to us is uncertain, however, and will
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not be known until, at the earliest, after the close of our current taxable year (and might not be known until as late as after the close of the second taxable year following our start-up year). Therefore, we cannot assure you that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Furthermore, we could meet one or both of the PFIC tests following our start-up year, and whether we do so would depend on, among other things, the timing of our business combination, the amount of our passive income and assets in the year of the business combination, and the amount of the acquired business’s passive income and assets. In such case, we would be treated as a PFIC in those taxable years and likely would not qualify for the start-up exception. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. We cannot assure you that we will not be a PFIC in our current taxable year or in any future taxable year.
Although our PFIC status is determined annually, an initial determination that we are a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held (or is deemed to have held) Class A ordinary shares or warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we are treated as a PFIC in those subsequent years. If we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year in which a U.S. Holder holds our Class A ordinary shares or warrants (regardless of whether we remain a PFIC for subsequent taxable years) and, in the case of our Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not timely make a qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) ordinary shares, a QEF election along with a purging election or a mark-to-market election (in each case, as described below), such U.S. Holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to (i) any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of its Class A ordinary shares or warrants and (ii) any “excess distribution” (generally, the portion of any distributions received by such U.S. Holder during a taxable year in excess of 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder during the three preceding taxable years or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares). Under these rules:
| • | the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares or warrants; |
| • | the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder realized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the portion of the U.S. Holder’s holding period prior to the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income; and |
| • | the amount allocated to each of the other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder will be subject to tax at the highest tax rate in effect for the U.S. Holder in that year, and an interest charge for the deemed deferral benefit will be imposed with respect to the resulting tax attributable to each such other taxable year (or portion thereof). |
In general, if we are treated as a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may be able to avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect of our Class A ordinary shares (but not our warrants) by making a timely and valid QEF election (if eligible to do so) in the first taxable year in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) Class A ordinary shares and we are classified as a PFIC. If a U.S. Holder makes a timely QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares, each year such U.S. Holder will be required to include in its income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and our ordinary earnings (as ordinary income), if any, for our taxable year that ends with or within the taxable year of the U.S. Holder, regardless of whether or not we make distributions to such U.S. Holder (although a U.S. Holder generally may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge). Such U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares will be increased to reflect taxed but undistributed earnings and profits. Distributions of earnings and profits that had been previously taxed will result in a corresponding reduction in the adjusted tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares and will not be taxed again once distributed. A U.S. Holder that has made a timely QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares will generally recognize capital gain or loss on the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares, and no additional tax charge will be imposed under the PFIC rules.
It is not entirely clear how various aspects of the PFIC rules apply to the warrants, and U.S. Holders are strongly urged to consult with their tax advisors regarding the application of such rules to their warrants in their particular circumstances. A U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon the exercise of such warrants) and we were treated as a PFIC at any time during the U.S. Holder’s holding period of
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such warrants, any gain recognized generally will be treated as an excess distribution, taxed as described above. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such warrants properly makes a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares. Notwithstanding any such QEF election, the adverse tax consequences relating to PFIC shares, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, generally will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (which generally will be deemed to have a holding period solely for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants), unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election under the PFIC rules. Under one type of purging election, the U.S. Holder will be deemed to have sold such shares at their fair market value and any gain recognized on such deemed sale will be treated as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of this purging election, the U.S. Holder will have additional basis (to the extent of any gain recognized on the deemed sale) and, solely for purposes of the PFIC rules, a new holding period in the Class A ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the warrants. The application of the rules related to purging elections described above to a U.S. Holder of a warrant that already owns Class A ordinary shares is not entirely clear. U.S. Holders are strongly urged to consult with their tax advisors regarding the application of the rules governing purging elections to their particular circumstances (including the availability of a separate “deemed dividend” purging election that may be available if we are a controlled foreign corporation).
The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, will apply to all subsequent taxable years of the U.S. Holder during which it holds Class A ordinary shares, unless we cease to be a PFIC or unless revoked by the U.S. Holder with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621, including the information provided in a PFIC annual information statement (discussed below), to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders should consult with their tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election in their particular circumstances.
In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC annual information statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request by a U.S. Holder, we will endeavor to provide to such U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable such U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election, but there is no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. There is also no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.
If we are treated as a PFIC and our Class A ordinary shares are treated as “marketable stock,” a U.S. Holder that holds our Class A ordinary shares at the close of a taxable year may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such Class A ordinary shares, provided the U.S. Holder completes and files IRS Form 8621 in accordance with the relevant instructions and related U.S. Treasury regulations. The mark-to-market election is available only for “marketable stock,” which generally includes stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including NASDAQ (on which we intend to list the Class A ordinary shares), or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. If made, a mark-to-market election would be effective for the taxable year for which the election was made and for all subsequent taxable years unless the Class A ordinary shares ceased to qualify as “marketable stock” for purposes of the PFIC rules or the IRS consented to the revocation of the election. U.S. Holders should consult with their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect of our Class A ordinary shares in their particular circumstances.
If the U.S. Holder makes a valid mark-to-market election for the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our Class A ordinary shares and in which we are treated as a PFIC, such U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to the PFIC rules described above in respect of its Class A ordinary shares. Instead, in general, such U.S. Holder will include as ordinary income in each taxable year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of the taxable year over its adjusted basis in its Class A ordinary shares. These amounts of ordinary income would not be eligible for the favorable tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income or long-term capital gains. Such U.S. Holder also will be permitted an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis of its Class A ordinary shares over the fair market
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value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of the taxable year, but only to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. Such U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts. Any gain recognized by such U.S. Holder on a sale or other disposition of its Class A ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income, and any loss recognized on the sale or other disposition of its Class A ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary loss to the extent that such loss does not exceed the net mark-to-market gains previously included by the U.S. Holder. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to warrants.
If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a direct or indirect interest in another entity that is treated as a PFIC (a “subsidiary PFIC”), each U.S. Holder generally would be treated as owning its pro rata share by value of the stock of such subsidiary PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described in the general PFIC rules above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the subsidiary PFIC or the U.S. Holder is otherwise deemed to have disposed of an interest in the subsidiary PFIC. Upon written request by a U.S. Holder, we will endeavor to cause any subsidiary PFIC to provide to such U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the subsidiary PFIC. There can be no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such subsidiary PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such subsidiary PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the subsidiary PFIC to provide such required information. A mark-to-market election generally would not be available with respect to a subsidiary PFIC. U.S. Holders are urged to consult with their tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by subsidiary PFICs.
A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder may have to file an IRS Form 8621 (whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is made) and such other information as may be required by the United States Department of the Treasury. Failure to do so, if required, may subject such U.S. Holder to substantial penalties and will extend the statute of limitations on the assessment and collection of all U.S. federal income taxes of such person for the related tax year until such required information is furnished to the IRS.
The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF election and the mark-to-market election are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants are strongly urged to consult with their own tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to them in their particular circumstances.
Certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of U.S. federal income taxes will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Furthermore, certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain entities will be required to report information with respect to such U.S. Holder’s investment in “specified foreign financial assets” on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject to certain exceptions. An interest in us constitutes a specified foreign financial asset for these purposes. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of U.S. federal income taxes will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Potential investors are urged to consult with their tax advisors regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to an investment in our Class A ordinary shares and warrants.
Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a Non-U.S. Holder.
Taxation of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares
Distributions (including constructive distributions) of cash or other property on our Class A ordinary shares, if any, generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the distributions are effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are treated as attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States). Any such effectively connected dividends generally will be taxed on a net income basis at the rates and in
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the manner generally applicable to comparable U.S. Holders. If the Non-U.S. Holder is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it may also be subject to a branch profits tax (at a 30% rate or such lower rate as specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on its effectively connected earnings and profits (as adjusted for certain items), which will include effectively connected dividends.
Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants
Subject to the discussion below under “- Information Reporting and Backup Withholding”, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax on any gain realized upon the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares, which would include a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period, or our warrants, unless such gain is effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States). A Non-U.S. Holder whose gains are effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States) generally will be subject to U.S. tax in the same manner as a comparable U.S. Holder. If the Non-U.S. Holder is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, then the after-tax amount of such gain may be subject to an additional branch profits tax (at a 30% rate or such lower rate as specified by an applicable income tax treaty).
Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares
The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of the redemption of a Non-U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities – Ordinary Shares” generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of such a redemption of a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares, as described under “– Considerations for U.S. Holders – Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares” above, and the consequences of the redemption to the Non-U.S. Holder will correspond to that described above in “– Taxation of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares” and “– Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants”, as applicable.
Exercise or Redemption of a Warrant
The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of a Non-U.S. Holder’s exercise of a warrant generally will correspond to the characterization described under “– Considerations for U.S. Holders – Exercise or Redemption of a Warrant” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the characterization would be similar to that described above in “– Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants”. The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of a redemption of a Non-U.S. Holder’s warrants for cash described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities – Warrants – Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants” (or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction) generally will correspond to that described above in “– Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants”. The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of a redemption of a Non-U.S. Holder’s warrants for our Class A ordinary shares described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities – Warrants – Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants” generally will correspond to the characterization described above in “– Considerations For U.S. Holders – Exercise or Redemption of a Warrant”.
Expiration of a Warrant
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of the expiration of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. Holder generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the expiration of a warrant by a U.S. Holder, as described above in “– Considerations For U.S. Holders – Expiration of a Warrant”.
Possible Constructive Distributions with Respect to Warrants
The terms of the warrants provide for an adjustment to the number of our Class A ordinary shares for which warrants may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrants in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities – Warrants – Public Shareholders’ Redeemable Warrants” An
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adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The Non-U.S. Holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease in the exercise price of the warrant) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property to the holders of our ordinary shares which is taxable to the holders of such shares as a distribution. A Non-U.S. Holder would be subject to tax on any such constructive distribution in the same manner as if such Non-U.S. Holder received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased proportionate interest, as described above under “– Taxation of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares”. For certain information reporting purposes, we are required to determine the date and amount of any such constructive distributions. Proposed Treasury regulations, which we may rely on prior to the issuance of final regulations, specify how the date and amount of constructive distributions are determined.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Dividends with respect to our Class A ordinary shares and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of our securities may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible United States backup withholding. A Non-U.S. Holder generally will eliminate the requirement for information reporting and backup withholding by providing certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury, on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (or other applicable or successor form). Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the U.S. federal income tax liability (if any) of persons subject to backup withholding will be reduced by the amount of tax withheld. If backup withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund generally may be obtained, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
INVESTORS CONSIDERING THE PURCHASE OF OUR SECURITIES ARE URGED TO CONSULT WITH THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAWS TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATIONS AND THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF U.S. FEDERAL ESTATE AND GIFT TAX LAWS AND ANY STATE, LOCAL OR NON-U.S. TAX LAWS AND TAX TREATIES.
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UNDERWRITING
Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement dated , 2021 we have agreed to sell to the underwriter named below the following number of units:
Underwriter | | Number of Units |
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC | | |
Total | | 20,000,000 |
The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriter is obligated to purchase all the units in this offering if any are purchased, other than those units covered by the over-allotment option described below.
We have granted to the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase on a pro rata basis up to 3,000,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any over-allotments of units.
The underwriter proposes to offer the units initially at the public offering price on the cover page of this prospectus and to selling group members at that price less a selling concession of $ per unit.
The following table summarizes the compensation and estimated expenses we will pay:
| | Per Unit(1) | | Total(1) |
| | Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment | | Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment |
Underwriting Discounts and Commissions paid by us | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 11,000,000 | | $ | 12,650,000 |
____________
(1) | Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriter for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriter only on completion of an initial business combination, in an amount equal to $0.35 multiplied by the number of Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering, as described in this prospectus. |
We estimate that our non-reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses for this offering will be approximately $1,500,000. We have agreed to pay for the FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriter’s legal counsel, not to exceed $25,000.
The underwriter does not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
We, our sponsor and our directors and officers have agreed that we will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, any units, warrants, ordinary shares or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, ordinary shares; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants; (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriter’s over-allotment option (if any); (3) register with the SEC pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, the resale of the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and the founder shares; and (4) issue securities in connection with our initial business combination. However, the foregoing shall not apply to the forfeiture of any Founder Shares pursuant to their terms or any transfer of Founder Shares to any current or future independent director of the company (as long as such current or future independent director is subject to the terms of the letter agreement, filed herewith, at the time of such transfer; and as long as, to the extent any Section 16 reporting obligation is triggered as a result of such transfer, any related Section 16 filing includes a practical explanation as to the nature of the transfer). Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.
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Pursuant to a letter agreement with us, our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares.
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriter against certain liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriter may be required to make in that respect.
We expect our units to be listed on NASDAQ, under the symbol “MOOSU” and, once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants begin separate trading, to have our Class A ordinary shares and warrants listed on NASDAQ under the symbols “MOOS” and “MOOSW,” respectively.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriter.
The determination of our per unit offering price was more arbitrary than would typically be the case if we were an operating company. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.
If we do not complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame, the trustee and the underwriter have agreed that: (1) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account; and (2) the deferred underwriter’s discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, together with any accrued interest thereon (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) to the public shareholders.
In connection with this offering, the underwriter may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
| • | Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. |
| • | Over-allotment involves sales by the underwriter of units in excess of the number of units the underwriter is obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of units over-allotted by the underwriter is not greater than the number of units that they may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of units involved is greater than the number of units in the over-allotment option. The underwriter may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option and/or purchasing units in the open market. |
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| • | Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the units in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of units to close out the short position, the underwriter will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option. If the underwriter sells more units than could be covered by the over-allotment option, a naked short position, the position can only be closed out by buying units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriter is concerned that there could be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering. |
| • | Penalty bids permit the underwriter to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the units originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. |
These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on NASDAQ or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
We are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriter to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, the underwriter may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If the underwriter provides services to us after this offering, we may pay the underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriter and no fees for such services will be paid to the underwriter prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering. We may pay the underwriter of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.
The underwriter and its affiliates may have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriter and its affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriter and its affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by the underwriter, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and the underwriter participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The underwriter may agree to allocate a number of units to the selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriter and selling group members that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
The units are offered for sale in the United States, Europe, Asia and other jurisdictions where it is lawful to make such offers.
The underwriter has represented and agreed that it has not offered, sold or delivered and will not offer, sell or deliver any of the units directly or indirectly, or distribute this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, in or from any jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations thereof and that will not impose any obligations on us except as set forth in the underwriting agreement.
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Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (each a “Relevant State”), no units have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in that Relevant State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that offers of units may be made to the public in that Relevant State at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation:
| • | to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the Prospectus Regulation; |
| • | to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriter for any such offer; or |
| • | in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, |
provided that no such offer of units shall require the issuer or the underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any units in any Relevant State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any units, and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
In relation to the United Kingdom, no units have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in the United Kingdom prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units that either (i) has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, or (ii) is to be treated as if it had been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority in accordance with the transitional provision in Regulation 74 of the Prospectus (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, except that offers of units may be made to the public in the United Kingdom at any time under the following exemptions under the UK Prospectus Regulation:
| • | to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation; |
| • | to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriter for any such offer; or |
| • | in any other circumstances falling within section 86 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended (the “FSMA”), |
provided that no such offer of units shall require the issuer or the underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to section 85 of the FSMA or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any units in the United Kingdom means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any units, and the expression “UK Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
The underwriter has represented and agreed that:
| • | it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of any units in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the issuer; and |
| • | it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to any units in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom. |
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Notice to Residents of Japan
The underwriter will not offer or sell any of our units directly or indirectly in Japan or to, or for the benefit of any Japanese person or to others, for re-offering or re-sale directly or indirectly in Japan or to any Japanese person, except in each case pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Securities and Exchange Law of Japan and any other applicable laws and regulations of Japan. For purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese person” means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
Notice to Residents of Hong Kong
The underwriter and each of their affiliates have not (1) offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, our units other than (A) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance or (B) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32 of Hong Kong) or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance or (2) issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, and will not issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere any advertisement, invitation or document relating to our units which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to our securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance. The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice.
Notice to Residents of Singapore
This prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units has not been and will not be registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the units will be offered in Singapore pursuant to exemptions under Section 274 and Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “Securities and Futures Act”). Accordingly our units may not be offered or sold, or be the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units be circulated or distributed, whether directly or indirectly, to the public or any member of the public in Singapore other than (a) to an institutional investor or other person specified in Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, (b) to a sophisticated investor, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act or (c) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the Securities and Futures Act.
Notice to Residents of Germany
Each person who is in possession of this prospectus is aware that no German sales prospectus (Verkaufsprospekt) within the meaning of the Securities Sales Prospectus Act (Wertpapier-Verkaufsprospektgesetz, the “Act”) of the Federal Republic of Germany has been or will be published with respect to our units. In particular, the underwriter has represented that it has not engaged and has agreed that it will not engage in a public offering (offentliches Angebot) within the meaning of the Act with respect to any of our units otherwise then in accordance with the Act and all other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Notice to Residents of France
The units are being issued and sold outside the Republic of France and that, in connection with their initial distribution, it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any units to the public in the Republic of France, and that it has not distributed and will not distribute or cause to be distributed to the public in the Republic of France this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, and that such offers, sales and distributions have been and will be made in the Republic of France only to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) in accordance with Article L.411-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code and decrét no. 98-880 dated October 1, 1998.
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Notice to Residents of the Netherlands
Our units may not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered in or from the Netherlands as part of their initial distribution or at any time thereafter, directly or indirectly, other than to, individuals or legal entities situated in The Netherlands who or which trade or invest in securities in the conduct of a business or profession (which includes banks, securities intermediaries (including dealers and brokers), insurance companies, pension funds, collective investment institution, central governments, large international and supranational organizations, other institutional investors and other parties, including treasury departments of commercial enterprises, which as an ancillary activity regularly invest in securities; hereinafter, “Professional Investors”); provided that in the offer, prospectus and in any other documents or advertisements in which a forthcoming offering of our units is publicly announced (whether electronically or otherwise) in The Netherlands it is stated that such offer is and will be exclusively made to such Professional Investors. Individual or legal entities who are not Professional Investors may not participate in the offering of our units, and this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units may not be considered an offer or the prospect of an offer to sell or exchange our units.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Cayman Islands
No offer or invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.
Notice to Canadian Residents
Resale Restrictions
The distribution of units in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the units in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
By purchasing units in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
| • | the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the units without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106 — Prospectus Exemptions; |
| • | the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103 — Registration |
Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations;
| • | where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent; and |
| • | the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions. |
Conflicts of Interest
Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105 — Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.
Statutory Rights of Action
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the
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time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Enforcement of Legal Rights
All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of units should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the units in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the units for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
LEGAL MATTERS
DLA Piper LLP (US), Austin, Texas, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to units and warrants. Maples and Calder, Cayman Islands, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of Cayman Islands law. In connection with this offering, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel to the underwriter.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I as of February 5, 2021 and for the period from February 5, 2021 (inception) through February 5, 2021 appearing in this prospectus have been audited by Marcum LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about the ability of Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I to continue as a going concern as described in Note 1 to the financial statements), appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance on such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
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INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholder and Board of Directors of
Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I (the “Company”) as of February 5, 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from February 5, 2021 (inception) through February 5, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of February 5, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from February 5, 2021 (inception) through February 5, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph – Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1, the Company’s ability to execute its business plan is dependent upon its completion of the proposed initial public offering described in Note 1 and 3 to the financial statements. The Company has a working capital deficiency as of February 5, 2021 and lacks the financial resources it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance of the financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. Management's plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1 and 3. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum llp
Marcum llp
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
Houston, Texas
March 5, 2021
F-2
MOOSE POND ACQUISITION CORP, NCV I
BALANCE SHEET
FEBRUARY 5, 2021
Assets: | | | | |
Deferred offering costs | | $ | 162,447 | |
Total Assets | | $ | 162,447 | |
| | | | |
Liabilities and Shareholder’s Equity: | | | | |
Accrued offering costs and expenses | | $ | 155,000 | |
Promissory note - related party | | | — | |
Total current liabilities | | | 155,000 | |
| | | | |
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6) | | | | |
| | | | |
Shareholder’s Equity | | | | |
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | — | |
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | — | |
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 shares issued and outstanding(1) | | | 575 | |
Additional paid-in capital | | | 24,425 | |
Accumulated deficit | | | (17,553 | ) |
Total shareholder’s equity | | | 7,447 | |
Total Liabilities and Shareholder’s Equity | | $ | 162,447 | |
| | | | |
____________
(1) | Includes up to 750,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriter (see Note 7). |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
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MOOSE POND ACQUISITION CORP, NCV I
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM FEBRUARY 5, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH FEBRUARY 5, 2021
Formation and operating costs | | $ | 17,553 | |
Net loss | | $ | (17,553 | ) |
| | | | |
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding(1) | | | 5,000,000 | |
Basic and diluted net loss per share | | $ | (0.00 | ) |
____________
(1) | Excludes up to 750,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriter (see Note 7). |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
MOOSE POND ACQUISITION CORP, NCV I
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM FEBRUARY 5, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH FEBRUARY 5, 2021
| | Class B Ordinary shares | | Additional Paid-In Capital | | Accumulated Deficit | | Shareholder’s Equity |
| | Shares(1) | | Amount | |
Balance as of February 5, 2021 (inception) | | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
Class B ordinary shares issued to Sponsor | | 5,750,000 | | | 575 | | | 24,425 | | | — | | | | 25,000 | |
Net loss | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (17,553 | ) | | | (17,553 | ) |
Balance as of February 5, 2021 | | 5,750,000 | | $ | 575 | | $ | 24,425 | | $ | (17,553 | ) | | $ | 7,447 | |
____________
(1) | Includes up to 750,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriter (see Note 7). |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
MOOSE POND ACQUISITION CORP, NCV I
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM FEBRUARY 5, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH FEBRUARY 5, 2021
Cash flows from operating activities: | | | | |
Net loss | | $ | (17,553 | ) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | | | | |
Formation costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares | | | 17,553 | |
Changes in current assets and liabilities: | | | | |
Due to related party | | | — | |
Net cash used in operating activities | | | — | |
| | | | |
Net change in cash | | | — | |
Cash, beginning of the period | | | — | |
Cash, end of the period | | $ | — | |
| | | | |
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: | | | | |
Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares | | $ | 7,447 | |
Deferred offering costs included in accrued offerings costs and expenses | | $ | 155,000 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
MOOSE POND ACQUISITION CORP, NCV I
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1— Organization and Business Operations
Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I (the “Company”) is a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted corporation on February 5, 2021. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company has not selected any specific Business Combination target and the Company has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any Business Combination target with respect to an initial Business Combination with the Company.
As of February 5, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from February 5, 2021 (inception) through February 5, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the Proposed Public Offering (as defined below). The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Public Offering (as defined below). The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s Sponsor is Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a Proposed Public Offering of 20,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit (the “Units”) (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3 (the “Proposed Public Offering”), and the sale of 4,933,333 Private Placement Warrants (or 5,333,333 Private Placement Warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) (the “Private Placement Warrants”) to the Sponsor, at a price of $1.50 per warrant, or $7,400,000 in the aggregate (or $8,000,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be generally applied toward consummating a Business Combination (less deferred underwriting commissions).
The Company’s Business Combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount) at the time of the signing an agreement to enter into a Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.
Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an aggregate of $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering will be held in a Trust Account (the “Trust Account”) and may only be invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay the Company’s taxes, if any, the funds held in the Trust Account will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest to occur of: (1) the Company’s completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of the public shares if the
F-7
Company has not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the public shareholders.
The Company will provide the Company’s public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination either (1) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in the Company’s discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require the Company to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. The public shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations. The amount in the Trust Account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share.
The ordinary shares subject to redemption will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering, in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks shareholder approval, a majority of the issued and outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.
The Company will have only the Combination Period (the “Combination Period”) to complete the initial Business Combination. However, if the Company is unable to complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and its board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
The Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any founder shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame).
The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than the Company’s independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party
F-8
who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and except as to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriter of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company has not independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company’s company and, therefore, the Sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations.
Going Concern Consideration
As of February 5, 2021, the Company had no cash and a working capital deficit of $155,000 (excluding deferred offering costs). The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management plans to address this uncertainty through a Proposed Public Offering as discussed in Note 3. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise capital or to consummate a Business Combination will be successful within the Combination Period. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Note 2 — Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (the “US GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
Emerging Growth Company Status
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
F-9
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash and cash equivalents as of February 5, 2021.
Deferred Offering Costs
Deferred offering costs consist of accounting and legal expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Public Offering and that will be charged to shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. Should the Proposed Public Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to its short-term nature.
Net Loss Per Ordinary Share
Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 750,000 ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriter (see Note 7). At February 5, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of February 5, 2021, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
The Company is considered to be an exempted Cayman Islands company with no connection to any other taxable jurisdiction and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company’s tax provision was zero for the period presented.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
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Note 3 — Proposed Public Offering
In the Proposed Public Offering, the Company will offer for sale up to 20,000,000 Units, (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit that the Company is offering has a price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share, and one-third of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7). Each warrant will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination and will expire five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
Note 4 — Private Placement
The Sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 4,933,333 warrants (or 5,333,333 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.50 per warrant, or $7,400,000 in the aggregate (or $8,000,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment.
The purchase price of the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire without value to the holder. The Private Placement Warrants will not be redeemable by the Company so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by holders other than the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in the Proposed Public Offering.
The Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any founder shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame).
Note 5 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On February 5, 2021, the Sponsor made a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain of the Company’s expenses, for which the Company issued founders shares to the Sponsor such that they currently hold an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares. Up to 750,000 of the founder shares may be surrendered by the Sponsor for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment is exercised.
The Company’s initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination; or (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction after the initial Business Combination that results in all of the public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary
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shares for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of the Company’s initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. The Company refers to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination, the founder shares will be released from the lock-up.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into Private Placement Warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. At February 5, 2021, no such Working Capital Loans were outstanding.
Note 6 — Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Public Offering requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to the Class A ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company registers such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the Company’s completion of the initial Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period, which occurs (1) in the case of the founder shares, on the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination, or (y) the date following the completion of the initial Business Combination on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (2) in the case of the Private Placement Warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriter has a 45-day option from the date of the Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
The underwriter will be entitled to a cash underwriting discount of two percent (2%) of the gross proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering, or $4,000,000 (or up to $4,600,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment is exercised in full). Additionally, the underwriter will be entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of 3.5% of the gross proceeds
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of the Proposed Public Offering held in the Trust Account upon the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Note 7 — Shareholder’s Equity
Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 1,000,000 preference shares at par value of $0.0001 each. At February 5, 2021, there were no shares of preference shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at par value of $0.0001 each. At February 5, 2021, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding.
Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares at par value of $0.0001 each. As of February 5, 2021, the Company issued 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares to its initial shareholders for $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The founder shares include an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriter in full.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in the Proposed Public Offering and related to the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for the Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with the initial Business Combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt.
Prior to the initial Business Combination, only holders of the Company’s founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of the public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time.
Warrants — No warrants are currently outstanding. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the completion of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates the initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, (i) the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, (ii) the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and (iii) the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
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The warrants cannot be exercised until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination and will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company’s satisfying the Company’s obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and the Company will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption is available. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire without value to the holder. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause such post-effective amendment or registration statement to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a public warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reason-able efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Redemption of warrants
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| • | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which the Company refers to as the 30-day redemption period; and |
| • | if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
In addition, once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may call the warrants for redemption:
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of Class A ordinary shares to be determined by reference to an agreed table based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of the Class A ordinary shares; |
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| • | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted) on the trading day before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and |
| • | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted) on the trading day before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders, the Private Placement Warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants. |
The “fair market value” of the Class A ordinary shares for the above purpose shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment).
If the Company calls the public warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the public warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrants. If the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire without value to the holder.
Note 8 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to through March 5, 2021, the date that the financial statements were available to be issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements other than as described below.
On February 15, 2021, the Sponsor has agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $175,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the Proposed Public Offering. The loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. The loan will be repaid out of the $1,500,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses. As of February 5, 2021, the Company had not borrowed any amount under the promissory note.
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20,000,000 Units
Moose Pond Acquisition Corp, NCV I
___________________________________
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
, 2021
___________________________________
Credit Suisse
PART II INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:
Legal fees and expenses | | $ | 350,000 |
Accounting fees and expenses | | $ | 40,000 |
Printing and engraving expenses | | $ | 35,000 |
SEC expenses | | $ | 35,000 |
FINRA expenses | | $ | 40,000 |
Road shows | | $ | 20,000 |
Directors and officers insurance premiums | | $ | 800,000 |
NASDAQ listing and filing fees | | $ | 80,000 |
Miscellaneous expenses | | $ | 100,000 |
Total offering expenses | | $ | 1,500,000 |
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of directors and officers, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide for indemnification of our directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect.
We will enter into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We may purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our directors and officers against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our directors and officers.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced directors and officers.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
On February 5, 2021, Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC, our sponsor, subscribed for an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares (up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised), for an aggregate offering price of $25,000 at an average purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share, and subsequently paid for the founder shares on February 5, 2021. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon completion of this offering. Such securities were issued in connection with our incorporation pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D.
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In addition, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase from us an aggregate of 4,933,333 (or 5,333,333 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at $1.50 per warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of $7,400,000 or $8,000,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full). This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the completion of our initial public offering. This issuance will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) Exhibits. The following exhibits are being filed herewith:
Exhibit | | Description |
1.1* | | Form of Underwriting Agreement |
3.1** | | Memorandum and Articles of Association |
3.2* | | Form of Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association |
4.1* | | Specimen Unit Certificate |
4.2* | | Specimen Class A Ordinary Share Certificate |
4.3* | | Specimen Warrant Certificate (included in Exhibit 4.4) |
4.4* | | Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant |
5.1* | | Opinion of Maples and Calder |
5.2* | | Form of Opinion of DLA Piper LLP (US) |
10.1** | | Promissory Note, dated February 15, 2021, issued to Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC |
10.2** | | Securities Subscription Agreement, dated February 5, 2021, between the Registrant and Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC |
10.3* | | Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant |
10.4* | | Form of Registration Rights Agreement between the Registrant and Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC |
10.5* | | Form of Letter Agreement among the Registrant and its directors and officers and Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC |
10.6* | | Form of Sponsor Warrants Purchase Agreement between the Registrant and Moose Pond NCV I Sponsor LLC |
10.7* | | Form of Indemnity Agreement |
10.8* | | Form of Administrative Services Agreement, by and between the Registrant and an affiliate of the Registrant |
14* | | Form of Code of Ethics |
23.1** | | Consent of Marcum LLP |
23.2* | | Consent of Maples and Calder (included in Exhibit 5.1) |
23.3* | | Consent of DLA Piper LLP (US) (included in Exhibit 5.2) |
24** | | Power of Attorney (included on signature page of this Registration Statement) |
99.1** | | Consent of Amar Lalvani, Director Nominee |
99.2** | | Consent of Adam Rogers, Director Nominee |
99.3** | | Consent of Leah Sweet, Director Nominee |
99.4** | | Consent of Andreas Wiele, Director Nominee |
99.5** | | Consent of Carl Shepherd, Director Nominee |
____________
* | To be filed by amendment |
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(b) Financial Statements. See page F-1 for an index to the financial statements and schedules included in the registration statement.
Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(b) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(c) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
| (1) | For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective. |
| (2) | For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
| (3) | For the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser, if the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use. |
| (4) | For the purpose of determining liability of a registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of an undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser: |
| (i) | Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424; |
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| (ii) | Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by an undersigned registrant; |
| (iii) | The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and |
| (iv) | Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Austin, State of Texas, on the 5th day of March, 2021.
| | MOOSE POND ACQUISITION CORP, NCV I |
| | By: | | /s/ G. Cotter Cunningham |
| | Name: | | G. Cotter Cunningham |
| | Title: | | Chief Executive Officer |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned constitutes and appoints each of G. Cotter Cunningham, Brian Sharples and Thomas Ball, each acting alone, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement on Form S-1 (including all pre-effective and post-effective amendments and registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, each acting alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that any such attorney-in-fact and agent, or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name | | Position | | Date |
/s/ G. Cotter Cunningham | | Chief Executive Officer and Director | | March 5, 2021 |
G. Cotter Cunningham | | | | |
/s/ Brian Sharples | | Chairman of the Board of Directors | | March 5, 2021 |
Brian Sharples | | | | |
/s/ Thomas Ball | | Director | | March 5, 2021 |
Thomas Ball | | | | |
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